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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


^■"% 


THE 

THEOSOPHICAL 

GLOSSARY 


BY 


H.  P.  BLAVATSKY 

Al-THOR    OF    "ISIS    rx\  EILKD,"     -THE    SECRET    I.().  •Tlil.VE.' '     "TIIK     Kl;V    T„    TflEOSOl-H  Y."     ETC.,     El 


FIRST  EDITION    1892 
REPRINTED   1018 


T  II  E  0  S  i)  P  II  1  ('  A  L      P  U  B  L  I  S  II  I  N  G      H  0  U  S  E 

Krotoxa, 

Hollywood.  Los  Angeles, 

California. 

1918. 


CoUeg« 
Library 


PREFACE 


The  Th(  osophudl  (ilosstiri/  labors  under  the  disadvantagre  of  iK'inp 
an  almost  entirely  postluinious  work,  of  which  the  author  only  saw  tlie 
tirst  thirty-two  i)ap:es  in  proof.  Tliis  is  all  the  more  reprettahle.  for 
H.P.B.,  as  was  her  wont,  was  adding  considerably  to  her  orifrinal  eopy. 
and  would  no  doubt  have  increased  the  volume  far  beyond  its  i)restnt 
limits,  and  so  have  thrown  lifrht  on  many  obscure  terms  that  are  not  in- 
cluded in  the  present  Glossary,  and  more  imjjortant  still,  have  furnished 
us  with  a  sketch  of  the  lives  and  teachin«rs  of  tlie  most  famous  Adei>ts 
of  the  East  and  West. 

The  Theosophicdl  Glossary  purposes  to  give  information  on  tlie  princi- 
pal Sanskrit,  Pahlavi,  Tibetan,  Pali,  Chaldean,  Persian,  Seandinavian. 
Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  Kabalistic  and  Gnostic  words,  and  Occult  terms 
generally  used  in  Theosophical  literature,  and  principally  to  be  found  in 
Isis  Unveiled,  Esoteric  Buddhism,  The  Secret  Doctrine,  The  Key  to  Theo- 
sophy,  etc.;  and  in  the  monthly  magazines.  The  Theusophist.  Lucifer  and 
The  Path,  etc.,  and  other  publications  of  the  Theosophical  Society.  The 
articles  marked  [w.w.w.J,  which  explain  words  found  in  the  Kabalah.  or 
which  illustrate  Rosicrucian  or  Hermetic  doctrines,  were  contributed  at 
the  special  request  of  H.P.B.  by  Bro.  AV.  W.  Wcstcott,  :M.B.,  P.M.  and 
P.Z.,  who  is  the  Secretary  General  of  the  Rosicrucian  Society,  and  Frsv- 
monstrator  of  the  Kabalah  to  the  Hermetic  Order  of  the  G.D. 

H.P.B.  desired  also  to  express  her  special  indebtedness,  as  far  as  the 
tabulation  of  facts  is  concerned,  to  the  Sanskrit-Chinese  Dictionary  of 
Eitel,  Th(  Hindu  Classical  Dictionary  of  Dowson,  The  Vishnu  Furana  of 
Wilson  and  tlie  Royal  Masonic  Cyclopaedia  of  Kenneth  Mackenzie. 

As  the  undersigned  can  make  no  pretension  to  the  elaborate  and  ex- 
traordinary scholarship  requisite  for  the  editing  of  the  multifarious  ami 
polyglot  contents  of  H.P.B. 's  last  contribution  to  Theosophical  literature, 
there  must  necessarily  be  mistakes  of  transliteration,  etc.,  which  special- 
ists in  scholarship  will  at  once  detect.  ^Meanwhile,  however,  as  nearly 
every  Orientalist  has  his  own  system,  varying  transliterations  may  be  ex- 
cused in  the  pivsent  work,  and  not  be  set  down  entirely  to  the  "Karma'' 
of  the  editor. 

G.  R.  s.  :mead. 

London,  Ja)niary,  18U2. 


THEOSOPHICAL 
GLOSSARY 


A._The  first  letter  in  all  the  world-alphabets  save  a  few.  sueh  for  in- 
stance as  the  Monf^olian,  the  Japanese,  the  Tibetan,  the  p:tliiopian.  etc. 
It  is  a  letter  of  great  mystic  power  and  "magic  virtue*"  with  those  wlio 
have  adopted  it,  and  with  whom  its  numerical  value  is  one.  It  is  the 
Aleph  of  the  Hebrews,  symbolized  by  the  Ox  or  Bull ;  the  Alpha  of  the 
Greeks,  the  one  and  tiie  first;  the  Az  of  the  Slavonians,  signifying  the 
pronoun  "I"  (referring  to  tlie  "I  am  that  I  am").  Even  in  Astrology. 
Taurus  (the  Ox  or  Bull  or  tiie  Ah ph)  is  the  first  of  the  Zodiacal  signs, 
its  color  being  white  and  yellow.  The  saered  Ah  ph  accpiires  a  still  more 
marked  .sanctity  with  the  Ciiristian  Kabbali.sts  when  they  learn  that  this 
letter  typifies  the  Trinity  in  Unity,  as  it  is  composed  of  two  Yods,  one 
upright,  the  other  reversed  with  a  slanting  bar  or  nexus,  thus—  x. 
Kenneth  R.  II.  .Mackenzie  states  that  "the  St.  Andrew  cross  is  occultly 
connected  therewith".  The  divine  name,  the  first  in  the  series  corre- 
sponding with  Ahph,  is  Aellelell  or  Ahih,  when  vowelless,  and  this  is  a 
Sanskrit  root. 

Aahla  (Eg.).  One  of  the  divisions  of  the  K<ni(t(r  (.r  infernal  re- 
gions, or  Anu'nti;  the  word  means  the  "Field  of  Peace". 

Aanroo  (Eij.).  Tlie  second  division  of  Anient i.  The  eelestial  field 
of  Aanroo  is  encircled  by  an  iron  wall.  The  field  is  covered  with  wheat, 
and  the  "Defunct"  are  represented  gleaning  it,  for  the  "Ma.ster  of  Eter- 
nity"; some  stalks  being  three,  others  five,  and  the  highest  seven  cubits 
high.  Those  who  reached  the  last  two  numbers  entered  tlie  state  of  bliss 
(which  is  called  in  Theosophy  Devaclian)  ;  the  disembodied  spirits  whose 
harvest  was  but  three  cubits  iiigh  went  into  lower  regions  {Kama- 
loka).  Wheat  was  with  the  Egyi)tians  the  symbol  of  the  Law  of  Uctribu- 
tion  or  Karma.  The  cubits  had  referenee  to  the  seven,  five  and  three 
iuinian  "principles". 

Aaron  (Ihb.).     The  elder  l)rother  of  Moses  and  the  firat  Iniiiair  of 


2  THF:c)S()l'jniAL 

tlif  IL'lu't'W  La\v<.Mvi'r.  Tlie  iianic  iiicaiis  tlit-  lUioninttti  <l,  or  tlio  En- 
light  i  md.  Aaron  tims  heads  tlif  line,  or  Ilit-rarcliy.  of  the  iiiitiatod 
\af)im,  or  SeiTs. 

Ab  (Ilcb.).  The  fK'Vciitli  iiioiitli  of  tlif  llitu-cw  civil  year;  the  liftli 
of  the  sacred  year  l)e«riiminfr  in  July.  |w.  w.  w.] 

Abaddon  < II >}>.}.  An  aiijrei  of  hell,  eorrespoiulin^^  to  the  Greek 
A|i()lly()ii. 

Abatur  (Gu.)  In  the  Nazarene  system  the  "Ancient  of  Days'*. 
Aiiti(iit)is  Alt  us,  the  Father  of  the  I)omiur«rus  of  the  Universe,  is  called 
the  Third  Life  or  "Abatur".  lie  corresj)onds  to  the  Third  "Logos"  in 
the  Si  (H  t  Doctrinr.       (See  Codvx  Xazardus.). 

Abba  Amona  (Jlrh.).  Lit.,  "Father-^Mother'" ;  the  oeeult  names  of 
the  two  higher  Sephiroth,  Chokmah  and  Binah,  of  the  upper  triad,  the 
apex  of  which  is  Sei)hira  or  Kether.  From  this  triad  issues  the  lower 
septenary  of  the  ►Sephirothal  Tree. 

Abhamsi  (Sk.).  A  mystic  name  of  the  "four  orders  of  beings* 
which  are,  Gods,  Demons,  Pitris  and  ^len.  Orientalists  somehow  connect 
the  name  with  "waters",  but  esoteric  philosophy  connects  its  symbolism 
with  Akasa — the  ethereal  "waters  of  space",  since  it  is  on  the  bosom  and 
on  the  seven  planes  of  "space"  that  the  "four  orders  of  (lower)  beings" 
and  the  three  higher  Orders  of  Spiritual  Beings  are  born.  (See  Secret 
Doctrine  I.  p.  458,  and  "Ambhamsi".) 

Abhasvaras  (Sk.).  The  Devas  or  "Gods"  of  JAght  and  Sound, 
the  highest  of  the  upper  three  celestial  regions  (planes)  of  the  second 
Dhi/i'ina  (q.v.)  A  class  of  gods  si.rfij-four  in  number,  representing  a  cer- 
tain eyele  and  an  occult  number. 

Abhava  (Sk.).  Negation,  or  non-being  of  intlividual  objects;  the 
noinncnnl  substance,  or  abstract  objectivity. 

Abhaya  (Sk.).  "Fearlessness" — a  son  of  Dharma;  and  also  a  re- 
ligious life  of  duty.  As  an  adjective,  "Fearless",  Abhaya  is  an  epithet 
givi-n  to  every  Buddha. 

Abhayagiri  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "Mount  Fearless"  in  Ceylon.  It  has  an 
ancient  Vihcira  or  ^lonastery  in  which  the  well-known  Chinese  traveller 
Fa-hien  found  5,000  Buddhist  ])riests  and  ascetics  in  the  year  400  of  our 
era,  and  a  School  called  Ahhcnjagiri  Vdsinah,  "School  of  the  Secret 
Forest".  Tiiis  philosophical  school  was  regarded  as  heretical,  as  the 
a.seetics  studied  the  doctrines  of  both  the  "greater"  and  the  "smaller" 
vehicles — or  the  Mahagdna  and  the  Ilinaydno  systems  and  Triydna  or  the 
three  successive  degrees  of  Yoga ;  just  as  a  certain  Brotherhood  does  now 
beyond  the  Himalayas.  This  proves  that  the  "disciples  of  Katyayana" 
were  and  are  as  unscctarian  as  their  humble  admirers  the  Theosophists 
are  now.  (See  "Sthavirah"  School.)  This  was  the  most  mystical  of  all 
the  schools,  and  renowned  for  the  number  of  Arhats  it  produced.  The 
Brotherhood  of  Abhcnfagiri  called  them.selves  the  disciples  of  Katyayana, 
the  favorite  Chela  of  Gautama,  the  Buddha.     Tradition  says  that  owing 


GLOSSARY  3 

to  bigoted  intolerance  and  persecution,  they  left  Ceylon  and  passed  be- 
yond the  Himalayas,  where  they  have  remained  ever  since. 

Abhidharma  (Sk.).  The  metai)hysical  (third)  part  of  Tripitaka, 
a  very  philosopliical  Buddhist  work  by  Katyayana. 

Abhijfia  (Sk.).  Six  i)henomenal  (or  "supernatural")  gifts  which 
Sakyamuiii  Buddlia  acquired  in  tlie  nijjht  on  which  he  reached  Buddha- 
ship.  This  is  tile  "fourth"  dpfrree  of  Dhyana  (the  .seventh  in  esoteric 
teaehinjrs)  wliich  lias  to  be  attained  by  every  true  Arhat.  In  China,  the 
initiated  Buddhist  ascetics  reckon  six  such  powers,  but  in  Ceylon  they 
reckon  only  five.  The  fir.st  Abhijna  is  Divyachnkchus,  the  instantaneous 
view  of  anVthing  one  wills  to  see ;  the  second,  is  Divyasrotra,  the  power 
of  comprehending  any  sound  whatever,  etc.,  etc. 

Abhimanim  (Sk.).  The  name  of  Agni  (fire)  the  "eldest  son  of 
Brahma,  in  other  words,  the  first  element  or  Force  produced  in  the  uni- 
verse at  its  evolution  (the  fire  of  creative  desire).  By  his  wife  Swaha. 
Abhimanim  had  three  sons  (the  fires)  Pavaka.  Pavamana  and  Suchi,  and 
these  had  "forty-five  sons,  who,  with  the  original  son  of  Brahma  and  his 
three  descendants,  constitute  the  forty-nine  fires"  of  Occultism. 

Abhimanyu  (Sk.).  A  son  of  Arjuna.  He  killed  Lakslimana.  in 
the  great  l)attle  of  the  ]\Iahabharata  on  its  second  day,  but  was  himself 
killed  on  the  thirteenth. 

Abhutarajasas  (Sk.).  A  class  of  gods  or  Dcvas,  during  the 
l»(n-iod  of  the  fifth  Manvantara. 

Abib  (Heh.).  The  first  Jewish  sacred  month,  begins  in  March:  is 
also  called  Nisan. 

Abiegnus  Mens  (Lat.).  A  my.stic  name,  from  wlience  as  from  a 
certain  mountain,  Rosicrucian  documents  are  often  found  to  be  issued — 
"Monte  Abiegno".  There  is  a  connection  with  ]Mount  ]\Ieru,  and  other 
sacred  hills,     (w.w.w.l 

Ab-i-hayat  (Prrs.).  Water  of  immortality.  Supposed  to  give 
eternal  youth  and  sempiternal  life  to  him  who  drinks  of  it. 

Abiri  (Gr.).  See  Kabiri.  also  written  Kabeiri.  the  Mighty  Ones, 
celestials,  sons  of  Zedec  the  just  one,  a  group  of  deities  worshipped  in 
Phcenicia  :  they  seem  to  be  identical  with  the  Titans,  Corybantes,  Curetes, 
Telehines  and  Dii  I\Iagni  of  Virgil,  [w.w.w.] 

Ablanathanalba  (Gn.).  A  term  similar  to  "Abracadabra". 
It  is  said  by  C.  AV.  King  to  have  meant  "thou  art  a  father  to  us";  it 
reads  the  same  from  either  end  and  was  used  as  a  charm  in  Egypt.  (See 
"Abracadabra"'.) 

Abracadabra  (Gn.).  This  symbolic  word  first  occurs  in  a  medi- 
cal treatise  in  verse  by  Samonicus,  who  flourished  in  the  reign  of  the 
Emperor  Septimus  Severus.  Godfrey  Iliggins  says  it  is  from  Ahra  or 
Ahar  "God",  in  Celtic,  and  cad  "holy";  it  was  used  as  a  charm,  and 
engraved  on  Knmcas  as  an  amulet,  [w.w.w.] 


4  THKOSorilliAI. 

CuHlfrcy  lIi<:<,Miis  was  nearly  i-i^lit.  as  tlic  word  " Abracaclal)ra"  is  a 
later  eorriiptiun  of  the  sacred  Gnostic  term  "Abrasax",  the  hitter  itself 
beinj;  a  still  earlier  corruption  of  a  sacred  and  ancient  Coptic  or  Egypt- 
ian word  :  a  nia<ric  formula  which  meant  in  its  symbolism  "llurt  me  not", 
and  addressed  tile  deity  in  its  hierofjlyphics  as  "Father".  It  was  gen- 
erally attached  to  an  amulet  or  charm  and  worn  as  a  Tdi  ((/.v.),  on  the 
breast  untler  the  garments. 

Abraxas  or  Abrasax  (Gn.).  Mystic  words  which  have  been 
traci'd  as  far  hack  as  liasilitles,  the  Pythagorean,  of  Alexandria,  a.d.  90. 
Me  uses  Abraxas  as  a  title  for  Divinity,  the  supreme  of  Seven,  and  as 
having  365  virtues.  In  Greek  numeration,  a.  i,  h.  2,  r.  100,  a.  i,  x.  60, 
a.  I,  .S-.  200=365,  days  of  the  year,  solar  year,  a  cycle  of  divine  action. 
('.  "W.  King,  author  of  Tin  Gnosfics,  considers  the  word  similar  to  the  He- 
brew Shi  ))ih(nnj)}i()nisch,  a  holy  word,  the  extended  name  of  God.  An 
Abraxas  Gem  usually  shows  a  nuiii's  l)ody  with  the  head  of  a  cock,  one 
arm  with  a  siiield,  the  other  with  a  whij).  [w.w.w.] 

Abraxas  is  the  counterpart  of  the  Hindu  Abhimanim  {q.v.)  and 
Brahma  combined.  It  is  these  compound  and  mystic  qualities  which 
caused  Oliver,  the  great  .Masonic  autliority.  to  connect  the  name  of  Ab- 
raxas with  that  of  Abraham.  This  was  unwarrantable  ;  the  virtues  and 
attril)utes  of  Abraxas,  which  are  365  in  number,  ought  to  have  shown 
liira  that  the  deity  was  connected  with  the  Sun  and  solar  division  of  the 
year — nay,  that  Abraxas  is  the  antitype,  and  the  Sun,  the  type. 

Absoluteness.  When  predicted  of  the  Universal  Prin'cipal,  it 
denotes  an  abstract  noun,  which  is  more  correct  and  logical  than  to  apply 
the  adjective  "absolute'"  to  that  which  has  neither  attributes  nor  limita- 
tions, nor  can  it  have  any. 

Ab-Soo  (Chnld.).  The  mystic  name  for  Space,  meaning  the  dwelling 
of  Ah  the  "Father",  or  tlie  Head  of  the  source  of  the  Waters  of  Knowl- 
edge. Tile  lore  of  the  latter  is  concealed  in  the  invisible  space  or  akasic 
regions. 

Acacia  (Gr.).  Innocence;  and  also  a  i)]ant  used  in  Freemasonry  as 
a  .symbol  of  initiation,  immortality,  and  purity;  the  tree  furnished  the 
sacred  Shittim  wood  of  the  Hebrews.   [w.w.\v.] 

Achamoth  (Gn.)  The  name  of  the  second,  the  inferior  Sophia. 
E.soterically  and  witli  the  Gnostics,  the  elder  Sophia  Avas  the  Holy  Spirit 
(female  Holy  Giiost)  or  the  Sakti  of  the  Unknown,  and  tlie  Divine 
Spirit ;  while  Sophia  Achamoth  is  but  the  personification  of  the  female 
aspect  of  the  creative  male  Force  in  nature;  also  tlie  Astral  Light. 

Achar  (Ilcb.).  The  Gods  over  whom  (according  to  the  Jews)  Je- 
hovah is  the  God. 

Achara  (Sk.).     Per.sonal  and  .social  (religious)  obligations. 

Acharya  (Sk.).  Spiritual  teacher.  Guru;  as  Sankar-r/t7?«rj/a,  lit.,  a 
■"teaclier  of  ethics".  A  name  generally  given  to  Initiates,  etc.,  and 
meaning  "Master", 


GLOSSARY  5 

Achath  (Il'b.).  The  our,  the  first,  femiiiiiie ;  iwhad  bein<r  juaseu- 
liiic.  A  Talniiulic  word  applied  to  Jeliovah.  It  is  wortliy  of  note  that  the 
Sanskrit  term  ak  means  one,  (kata  beinf?  "unity",  Brahma  being  called 
dk,  or  cka,  the  one,  the  first,  whence  the  Hebrew  word  and  application. 

Acher  (Hch.).  The  Talmndic  name  of  the  Apostle  Paul.  The  Tal- 
mud narrates  the  story  of  the  four  Tanaim,  who  entered  tlie  (iardcn  of 
Delight,  i.e.,  came  to  be  initiated;  Hen  Asai,  who  looked  and  lost  his 
sight ;  Ben  Zoma,  who  looked  and  lost  his  reason  ;  Acher,  who  made  depre- 
dations in  the  garden  and  failed;  and  Rabbi  Akiba,  who  alone  succeeded. 
The  Kabbalists  say  tiiat  Acher  is  Paul. 

Acheron  (dr.).     One  of  the  rivers  of  Hell  in  Greek  mytholog>'. 

Achit  (Sk.).  Absolute  ;io«-intelligence ;  as  Chit  is — in  contrast — 
absolute  intelligence. 

Achyuta  (Sk.).  That  which  is  not  subject  to  change  or  fall  :  the 
op])osite  to  Chyuta,  "fallen".    A  title  of  Vi.shnu. 

Acosmism  (Gr.).  The  precreative  period,  when  there  was  no  Kos- 
raos  but  Chaos  alone. 

Ad  (Assyr.).  Ad,  "the  P^ather".  In  Aramean  ad  means  one,  and 
ad-ad  ' '  the  only  one ' '. 

Adah  (Assijr.).  Borrowed  by  the  Hebrews  for  the  name  of  their 
Adah,  father  of  Jubal,  etc.  But  Adah  meaning  the  first,  the  one,  is 
universal  property.  There  are  reasons  to  think  that  Ak-ad,  means  the 
^rs^-born  or  Son  of  Ad.  Adon  was  the  first  "Lord''  of  Syria.  (See 
/m  r«v.  II.,  pp.  452,  453). 

Adam  (Heh.).  In  the  Kahalah  Adam  is  the  "only-begotten",  and 
means  also  "red  earth".  (See  "Adam-Adami"  in  the  Sec.  Doct.  II.,  p. 
452).  It  is  almost  identical  with  Aihamas  or  Thomas,  and  is  rendered 
into  Greek  by  Didumos,  the  "twin" — Adam,  "tiie  first",  in  chap,  i  of 
Genesis,  being  shown,  "male-female." 

Adam  Kadmon  (Ilrh.).  Archetypal  Man;  Humanity.  The 
■' Ilcavt'nly  Man"  not  fallen  into  sin;  Kabbalists  refer  it  to  the  Ten 
Sepliiroth  on  the  ])lane  of  human  j)erception.    [w.w.w.] 

In  the  Kahidah  Adam  Kadmon  is  the  manifested  Logos  corresponding 
to  our  Third  Logos;  the  LInmanifested  being  the  first  paradigmic  ideal 
Man,  and  symbolizing  the  Univer.se  ///  ahscondito,  or  in  its  "privation" 
in  the  Aristotelean  .sense.  The  First  Logos  is  the  "Light  of  the  World", 
the  Second  and  the  Third — its  gradually  deepening  shadows. 

Adamic  Earth  (Alch.).  Called  the  "true  oil  of  gold"  or  the 
"primal  element  in  Alchemy.  It  is  but  one  remove  from  the  pure  homo- 
geneous element. 

Adbhuta  Brahmana  (Sk.).  The  Bialiniana  of  miraeles;  treats 
of  nuirvels,  auguries,  and  various  phenomena. 

Adbhuta  Dharma  (Sk.).  The  "law"  of  things  never  heard  be- 
fore.  A  class  of  Buddhist  works  on  miraculous  or  phenomenal  events. 


6  TlIKOSUi'lllCAL 

Adept  (Lilt.).  Aihptus,  "IT*'  who  Ims  ()l)taiii»(r".  hi  Occultism 
one  who  lias  reached  the  sta<;e  of  Initiation,  and  become  a  Master  in  the 
science  of  Esoteric  philosophy. 

Adhanna  fSk.).     l'nri{rhte(insiir>s.  vice,  the  o|>pnsitr  of   hhai-ina. 

Adhi  (Sl{.).    Supreme,  paramount. 

Adhi-bhautika  duhkha  (Sk.).  The  second  of  the  three  kinds  of 
pain;  ///..  "I'lvil  pidcccdin';  from  external  thiiifjs  or  bein«js." 

Adhi-daivika  duhkha  (Sk.).  The  third  of  the  three  kinds  of  pain. 
"Mvil  proeri  tlin<jr  from  diriiu   causts,  or  a  just  Karmic  i)unislnnent". 

Adhishtanam  (Sk.).  liasis;  a  princii)le  in  whieh  some  other  princi- 
pal  inheres. 

Adhyatmika  duhkha  (Sk.).  The  first  of  tlie  three  kinds  of  pain; 
/(/..  '•llvil  jtroci  r(liii'_'  from  Self",  an  induced  or  a  «renerated  evil  by 
N(  //.  or  man  himself. 

Adhyatma  Vidya  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  esoteric  luminary".  One  of 
the  rancha  Vidijd  Sastras,  or  the  Scriptures  of  the  Five  Sciences. 

Adi  (Sk.).    The  First,  the  primeval. 

Adi  (the  Sons  of).  In  E.soteric  philo.sophy  the  "Sons  of  Adi"  art- 
called  the  "Sons  of  the  Fire-Mist".  A  term  used  of  certain  adepts. 

Adi-bhuta  (Sk.).  The  first  Bein*;;  also  primordial  element. 
Ailhhuta  is  a  title  of  Vishnu,  the  "first  Element"  containing  all  ele- 
ments, "the  unfathomable  deity". 

Adi-Buddha  (Sk.).  The  First  and  Supreme  I'.uddha — not  recop- 
ni/ed  in  the  Southern  Church.    Tiie  Eternal  Light. 

Adi-budhi  (Sk.).  Primeval  Intelligence  or  Wi.sdom ;  the  eternal 
I^udhi  or  L'niver.sal  ^Mind.  Used  of  Divine  Ideation,  "Mahabuddhi"  be- 
ing synonymous  with  Maiiat. 

Adikrit  ^S'A-.;.  Lit.,  the  "first  produced"  or  made.  The  creative 
Force  eternal  and  uncreate,  but  manifesting  periodically.  Aj^plied  to 
Vishnu  slumbering  on  the  "waters  of  s])ace"  during  "pralaya"  i^q.v.). 

Adi-natha  (Sk.).  The  "first"  "Lord"  Jr/i  "first"  (ma.sc).  nCithn 
•Lord". 

Adi-nidana  (Sk.).  First  and  Supreme  Causality,  from  Adi,  the 
first  and  .Mdnnu  the  principal  cause  (or  the  coneatiiiation  of  cause  and 
effect). 

Adi-Sakti  (Sk)..  Primeval,  divine  Force;  the  female  creative 
powi  r.  and  aspect  in  and  of  every  nude  god.  The  Sakti  in  tlu-  Hindu 
Pantheon  is  always  the  spouse  of  some  god. 

Adi-Sanat  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "First  Ancient".  The  term  corresjionds 
to  till-  Kahalistic  "ancient  of  days",  since  it  is  a  title  of  lirahma — called 
in  the  Zohar  the  Atfirkah  d'Attffkun,  or  "the  Ancient  of  the  An- 
cients", etc. 

Aditi    (Sk.).     The   Vedic   name   for  the   .Mitl(ii>r(ikriti  of   the    Vedan- 


GLOSSARY  7 

tists;  the  abstract  aspect  of  Parabraliman.  tliou<;li  both  uninauifested  and 
unknowable.  In  the  Vcdas  Aditi  is  the  "Mother-Goddess",  her  terrestrial 
syiiibiil  l)iiii<r  infinite  and  sliorcless  space. 

Aditi-Gaea.  A  compound  term.  Sanskrit  and  Latin  mt-anin^'  dual, 
nature  in  theosophieal  writin«?s — spiritual  and  physical,  as  Gaea  is  the 
goddess  of  the  earth  and  of  objective  nature. 

Aditya  (Sk.).  A  name  of  the  Sun;  as  MarttAiida.  he  is  the  Smi  <tf 
Aditi. 

Adityas   (Sk.).     The  seven   mhis  dl'  Aditi;  tlie  .se\tii   planetary  jrods. 

Adi  Varsha  (Sk.).  The  first  land;  the  primordial  country  in  whicli 
dwelt  the  first  races. 

Adonai  (Ildi.).  Tlie  same  as  Adonis.  Commoidy  translated 
"Lord".  Astronomically — the  Sun.  When  a  Hebrew  in  readinp:  came  to 
the  name  IHVIi,  wliich  is  called  Jehovah,  he  paused  and  substituted  the 
word  "Adonai",  (Adni)  ;  but  wiien  written  witii  tlie  points  of  Alhim, 
he  called  it  "Elohim".  [w.  w.  w.] 

Adonim-Adonai,  Adon.  The  ancient  Chaldeo-IIebrew  names 
for  tlie  Eloliim  or  creative  terrestrial  forces,  synthesized  by  Jehovah. 

Adwaita  (Sk.).  A  Vedanta  sect.  Tlie  non-dualistic  (A-dwaita) 
school  of  Vedantic  philosophy  founded  by  Sankaracharya,  the  greatest 
of  the  historical  Brahmin  sages.  The  two  other  schools  are  the  Dwaita 
(dualistic)  and  the  Visishtadwaita ;  all  the  three  call  themselves  Ve- 
dantic. 

Adwaitin  (Sk.).    A  follower  of  the  said  school. 

Adytum  (Gr.).  The  Holy  of  Holies  in  the  pagan  temples.  A  name 
for  the  Secret  and  sacred  precincts  or  the  inner  chamber,  into  which  no 
profane  could  enter;  it  corresponds  to  the  sanctuary  of  the  altars  of 
("hristiaji  Churches. 

iEbel-Zivo  (On.).  The  Metatron  or  anointed  sjnrit  with  the 
Nazarene  Gnostics;  the  same  as  the  angel  Gabriel. 

.Mollis  (Gr.).  The  god  who,  according  to  Hesiod,  binds  and  loo.scs 
the  winds ;  the  king  of  storms  and  winds.  A  king  of^olia,  the  inventor 
of  sails  and  a  great  astronomer,  and  therefore  deified  by  posterity. 

.^on  or  .^ons  (Gr.).  Periods  of  time;  emanations  proceeding 
from  the  divine  essence,  and  celestial  beings;  genii  and  angels  with  the 
Gnostics. 

JEsiT  (Scaitd.}.  The  same  as  .l.sv.s'.  the  creative  Forces  personified. 
The  gods  who  created  the  black  dwarfs  or  the  Elvfs  of  Darkness  in 
Asgard.  The  divine  iEsir,  the  Ascs  are  the  Elves  of  Light.  An  alleg.-.ry 
bringing  together  darkness  which  comes  from  light,  and  matter  born  of 
spirit. 

.^ther  (Gr.).  With  the  ancients  the  divine  luminiferous  sub- 
stance which  pervades  the  whole  universe,  the  "garment"  of  the  Su- 


g  THKoSOl'lIIiAL 

prt'int'  Deity,  Zens,  or  Jiipitm-.  With  tin-  inotifnis.  Eflicr.  for  the  inciuiintr 
of  which  in  j)hysi('s  and  chcniistry  set'  Webster's  Dictionarif  or  any  otlier. 
In  esotericisni  yKther  is  the  third  principle  of  tlie  Kosinic  Septenary; 
the  Eartli  beinj?  the  lowi'St,  then  the  Astral  lifrht,  Ktlier  and  Ahasa  (pho- 
netically A  kasha)  the  hi«rhest. 

iEthrobacy  (dr.).  Lit.,  walking  on,  or  hriii^'  lifted  into  the  air 
with  no  visible  a^ent  at  work;  "levitation". 

It  may  be  conscious  or  unconscious;  in  the  one  case  it  is  laafjic,  in  the 
other  either  disease  or  a  power  which  requires  a  few  words  of  elucidation. 
Wt'  know  that  the  earth  is  a  itiafjiu'tic  l)ody  ;  in  fact,  as  some  scientists 
have  found,  and  as  Paracelsus  aflirmed  some  800  years  afro,  it  is  one  vast 
magnet.  It  is  duirged  with  one  form  of  electricity — let  us  call  it  posi- 
tive— which  it  evolves  continuously  by  spontaneous  action,  in  its  interior 
or  centre  of  motion.  Human  bodies,  in  common  with  all  other  forms  of 
matter,  are  charged  with  the  opposite  form  of  electricity,  tlie  negative. 
That  is  to  say,  organic  or  inoi'ganic  bodies,  if  left  to  themselves  will  con- 
stantly and  involuntarily  charge  themselves  with  and  evolve  the  form  of 
electricity  opposite  to  that  of  the  earth  itself.  Now,  what  is  weight? 
Simply  the  attraction  of  the  earth.  "Without  the  attraction  of  the  earth 
you  would  have  no  weight",  says  Professor  Stewart;  "and  if  you  had 
an  earth  twice  as  heavy  as  this,  you  would  have  double  the  attraction". 
How  then,  can  we  get  rid  of  this  attraction?  According  to  the  electrical 
law  above  stated,  there  is  an  attraction  between  our  planet  and  the  or- 
ganisms upon  it,  which  keeps  tliem  uj^on  the  surface  of  the  globe.  But 
the  law  of  gravitation  has  been  counteracted  in  many  instances,  by  levi- 
tation of  ])er!5ons  and  inanimate  objects.  How  account  for  this?  The 
condition  of  our  physical  systems,  say  theurgic  j)hilosophcrs,  is  largely 
dependent  upon  the  action  of  our  will.  If  well-regulated,  it  can  i)roduce 
"miracles";  among  others  a  change  of  this  electrical  polarity  from 
negative  to  positive;  tlie  man's  relations  with  the  earth-magnet  would 
then  become  repellent,  and  "gravity"  for  him  would  have  ceased  to 
e.xist.  It  would  then  be  as  natural  for  him  to  rush  into  the  air  until  the 
repellent  force  had  exhausted  itself,  as,  before,  it  had  been  for  him  to 
remain  upon  the  ground.  The  altitude  of  his  levitation  would  be 
measured  by  iiis  ability,  greater  or  less,  to  ciuirge  his  body  with  i)ositive 
electricity.  This  control  over  the  physical  forces  once  obtained,  altera- 
tion of  his  levity  or  gravity  would  be  as  easy  as  breathing.  (See  Isis  Un- 
VI  ihd.  Vol.  I.,  page  xxiii.) 

Afrits  (Arab.).  A  name  for  native  spirits  regarded  as  devils  by 
Mussulmen.     Eleraentals  mueji  dreaded  in  Egypt. 

Agapse  (Or.).  Love  Feasts;  the  early  Christians  ke|)t  such  festi- 
vals in  token  of  sympathy,  love  and  mutual  benevolence.  It  became  nec- 
essary to  abolish  them  as  an  institution,  because  of  great  abuse  ;  Paul  in 
his  First  Epistle  to  tlie  Corinthians  complains  of  misconduct  at  the  feasts 
of  the  Christians,  [w.w.w.]. 


GLOSSARY  9 

Agastya  (Sk.).  Tlu'  name  of  a  j^nat  Hislii,  inucli  rfvcn-il  m  r>(i\nh- 
eni  India;  the  reputed  autlior  of  hymns  in  tlie  Rig  Vrda,  and  a  great 
hero  in  tlie  Rnmnijana.  In  Tamil  literature  he  is  credited  with  having 
beeu  the  first  instructor  of  tile  Dravidians  in  science,  rdiirion  and  phil- 
osopliy.    It  is  also  the  name  of  the  star  "Canopus". 

Agathodsemon  ((h\).  The  beneficent,  pood  Spirit  as  (•(nurasTcd 
witli  the  had  one.  KakocUemon.  The  "Brazen  Serjient"  of  the  Hihle  is  the 
former;  the  fiyinjr  serpents  of  fire  are  an  aspect  of  Kakoda-mon.  The 
Oi)hites  called  Agathodiemon  the  Logos  and  Divine  Wisdom,  which  in 
the  Bacchanalian  Mysteries  was  represented  by  a  serpent  erect  on  a  pole. 

Agathon  (Gr.).  Plato's  Rupn'me  Deity.  JAt..  "The  Good",  our 
A  LAY  A,  or  "Universal  Soul". 

Aged  (Knh.).  One  of  the  Kahbalistic  names  for  Sephira.  called  also 
the  Crown,  or  K(  th<  r. 

Agla  (Hch.).  This  Kabbalistic  word  is  a  talisman  compo.sed  of  the 
initials  of  the  four  words  "Ateh  Gibor  Leolam  Adonai",  meaning  "Thou 
art  mighty  for  ever  0  Lord".  ]\IaeGregor  Mathers  explains  it  thus: 
"A,  the  fir.st ;  A,  the  last;  G,  the  trinity  in  unity;  L.  the  completion  of 
the  great  work",    [w.w.w.] 

Agneyastra  (Sk.).  The  fiery  missiles  or  weapons  used  by  the 
Gods  in  the  exoteric  Furdnas  and  the  Mahdhharata;  the  magic  weapons 
.said  to  have  been  wielded  by  the  adept-race  (the  fourth),  the  Atlanteans. 
This  "weapon  of  fire"  was  given  by  Bharadwaja  to  Agnivesa.  the  son  of 
Agni,  and  by  him  to  Drona,  though  the  Vishnu  Purnna  contradicts  this, 
saying  that  it  was  given  by  the  sage  Aurva  to  King  Sagara,  his  chela. 
They  are  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Mahdbhnratd  and  the  Rdmdyana. 

Agni  (Sk.).  The  God  of  Fire  in  the  Veda;  the  oldest  and  the  most 
revered  of  Gods  in  Iiulia.  II(>  is  one  of  the  three  great  deities:  Agni. 
Vayu  and  Surya.  and  also  all  the  three,  as  he  is  the  triple  aspect  of  fire  ; 
in  heaven  as  tlie  Sun;  in  the  atmosphere  or  air  (Vriyu),  as  Lightning;  on 
earth,  as  ordinary  Fire,  Agni  belonged  to  the  earlier  Vedic  Trimurii 
before  Vishnu  was  given  a  place  of  lionour  and  before  Brahma  and  Siva 
were  invented. 

Agni  Bahu  (Sk.).  An  ascetic  son  of  Manu  Swavand)huva.  the 
"Self-born". 

Agni  Bhuvah  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "born  of  fire",  the  term  is  applit'«l  to 
the  four  races  of  Kshatriiias  (the  .second  or  warrior  caste)  whose  ancestors 
are  .said  to  have  sprung  from  fire.  Agni  Bhuvah  is  the  son  of  Agni,  the 
God  of  Fire;  Agni  Bluivah  being  the  same  as  Kartti-keya.  the  God  of 
War.     (See  Sec.  Duct.,  Vol.  II.,  p,  550,) 

Agni  Dhatu  Samadhi  (Sk.).  A  kind  of  contemplation  in  Yoga 
practice,  when  Kundalini  is  raised  to  the  extreme  and  the  infinitude 
appeai-s  as  one  sheet  of  fire.    An  ecstatic  condition. 

Agni  Hotri  (Sk.).  The  priests  who  served  the  Fire-God  in  Aryan 
antiquity.     The  term  Agni  Ilotri  is  one  that  denotes  oblation. 


10 


TIIKDSOl'll  l(  Al, 


Agpni-ratha  (Sk.).  A  "Fiery  Vdiicli'"  literally.  A  kind  of  llyiiitr 
mai'liine.  Spoken  of  in  ancient  works  of  magic  in  India  and  in  the  epic 
poems. 

Agnishwattas  (Sk.).  A  class  of  Pitris.  the  creators  of  the  first 
ethereal  race  of  men.  Our  solar  ancestors  as  contrasted  with  the  liar- 
hishads,  the  "lunar"  Pitris  or  ancestors,  thoufili  otherwise  explained  in 
till'   I'ltrana.s. 

Ag^oia  (dr.).  "Divested  of  nason",  /(/..  " iri-ationality ".  when 
speakiiif?  of  the  animal  Soul.  According  to  Plutarch,  Pythagoras  and 
IMato  divided  the  luinuin  soul  into  two  parts  (the  higher  and  lower 
manas) — the  rational  or  noetic  and  the  irrational,  or  ngnoia,  sometimes 
written  "annoia". 

Agnostic  (dr.).  A  word  elaiiiied  by  Mr.  Iluxley  to  have  been 
coined  by  him  to  indicate  one  who  believes  nothing  which  cannot  be 
demonstrated  by  the  .senses.  The  later  schools  of  Agnosticism  give  more 
philosophical  definitions  of  the  term. 

Agra-Sandhani  (Sk.).  The  "Asst^ssors"  or  Rrcordcrs  who  read 
at  the  judgment  of  a  disembodied  Soul  the  record  of  its  life  in  the  heart 
of  that  "Soul".  The  same  almost  as  the  Lipikas  of  the  Secret  Doctrine. 
(See  Sfc.  Doct.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  105.) 

AgTuerus     A   very   ancient   Phoenician    god.     The   same   as   Saturn. 

Aham  (Sk.).    "I"— the  basis  of  Ahattknra,  Self-hood. 

Ahan  (Sk.).    "Day",  the  Body  of  Brahma,  in  the  Vurdnas. 

Ahankara  (Sk.).  The  conception  of  "1",  Self-consciousness  or 
Self-identity;  the  "I",  the  egotistical  and  mdydvic  principle  iji  man, 
due  to  our  ignorance  which  .separates  our  "I"  from  the  Universal  One- 
Self  Personality,  Egoism. 

Aheie  (Hih.).  p]xistenee.  lie  wlio  exists;  corresponds  to  Kether 
and  Macroprosopus. 

Ah-hi  (Scnsar),  Ahi  (Sk.),  or  Serpent.s.  Dliyan  Chohans.  "\Vi.se 
Serpents"  or  Dragons  of  Wisdom. 

Ahi  (Sk.).  A  serpent.  A  name  of  Vi-itra,  the  Vedie  demon  of 
drought. 

Ahti   (Scand.).     The  "Dragon"  in  the  Eddaa. 

Ahu  (Scand.).    "One"  and  the  first. 

Ahum  (Zend).  The  first  three  principles  of  sej)tenary  man  in  the 
.1  »•/  .s7(/ ;  the  gross  living  man  and  his  vital  and  astral  principles. 

Ahura  (Zend).  The  same  as  Asura,  the  holy,  the  Breath-like. 
Ahura  Mazda,  the  Ormuzd  of  the  Zoroastrians  or  Parsis,  is  the  Lord 
who  bestows  light  and  intelligence,  who.se  symbol  is  tiie  Sun  (See  "Ahura 
Mazda"),  and  of  whom  Ahriman,  a  European  form  of  "Angra  ^^lainyu" 
iq.v.),  is  the  dark  aspect. 

Ahura    Mazda    (Zend).      The    personified    deity,    the    Principle    of 


GLOSSARY  1 1 

Universal  Diviiif  Light  of  the  Parsis.  From  Ahura  or  Asura,  breath, 
"spiritual,  divine"  in  the  oldest  Rig  Veda,  dcjrraded  by  the  orthodox 
Brahmans  into  Asura,  "no  gods",  just  as  tiie  ^lazdi-Mns  havt-  dtL-raded 
the  Hindu  Devas  (Gods)  into  Daeva  (Devils). 

Aidoneus  (Gr.).  The  God  and  King  of  the  Xi-tiu-T  World;  I'liito 
or  Dion.xsos  Chthonios  (subterranean). 

Aij  Talon  The  supreme  deity  of  the  Yakoot,  a  trilx'  in  Xortht-rn 
Siberia. 

Ain-Aior  (VhaUL).  Tlie  only  " Self-existent ■'.  a  mystic  name  for 
divine  subistance.  [w.w.av.] 

Ain  (Jlch.).  The  negatively  existent;  deity  in  repose,  and  absolutely 
passive,     fw.w.w.] 

Aindri  (Sk.).     Wife  of  Indri. 

Aindriya  (Sk.).  Or  Indnhii,  Indriya ;  Sakti.  The  fenmle  aspect 
or  "wife  "  of  Indra. 

Ain  Soph  (Il(h.).  The  "P>oiindless"  or  Limitless;  Deity  emanating 
and  extending,  [w.w.w] 

Ain  Soi)h  is  also  written  En  Soph  and  Ain  Suph,  no  one.  not  even 
Rabbis,  being  sure  of  their  vowels.  Li  the  religious  metaphysics  of  the 
old  Hebrew  philosophers,  the  One  Principle  was  an  abstraction,  like 
Parabrahmam,  though  modern  Kabbalists  have  succeeded  now,  by  dint  of 
mere  sophistry  and  paradoxes,  in  making  a  "Supreme  God"  of  it  and 
nothing  higher.  But  with  the  early  Chaldean  Kabbalists  Ain  Soph  is 
"without  form  or  being",  having  "no  likeness  with  anything  else" 
(Franck,  Di(  Kabbala,  \).  126).  That  Ain  Soph  has  never  been  consid- 
ered as  the  "('reator"  is  proved  by  even  such  an  orthodox  Jew  as  Philo 
calling  the  "Creator"  the  Logos,  who  stands  next  the  "Limitless  One", 
and  the  "Second  God".  "The  Second  God  is  its  (Ain  Soph's)  wis 
dom",  .says  Philo  (Qua<st.  d  Solid.).  Deity  is  No-thing;  it  is  nameless, 
and  therefore  called  Ain  Soj))! ;  the  word  Ain  meaning  nothing.  (Se«' 
Franck 's  Kabhala,  p.  153  ff.) 

Ain  Soph  Aur  (Jlch.).  The  Boundless  Light  which  concentrates 
into  tlie  First  and  highest  Sephira  or  Kether,  the  Crown,  [w.w.w.] 

Airyamen  Vaego  (Zend).  Or  Airyuna  Vacgo;  the  primeval  land 
of  bliss  refeiTed  to  in  the  Vcndideid,  where  Ahura  Mazda  delivered  his 
laws  to  Zoroaster  (Spitama  Zarathustra), 

Airyana-ishejo  (Zmd).  The  name  of  a  prayer  to  the  "holy 
Airyamen",  tlie  divine  aspect  of  Ahriraan  before  the  latter  became  a 
dark  opposing  power,  a  Satan.  For  Ahriman  is  of  the  same  essence 
with  Ahura  Mazda,  just  as  Typhon-Seth  is  of  the  same  essence  with 
Osiris  iq.v.). 

Aish  (n>h.).     The  word  for  "Man". 

Aisvarikas   (Sk.).     A   theistic  school  of  Xepaul,  which  sets  up  Adi 


12 


TIIKDSOI'HICAI, 


[iiuUllia  as  a  suprt'ini'  ^'txl  (Isvara),  insti-ad  of  scciii};  in  tlir  iiaiiir  that 
of  a  j)rincii)lf.  an  abstract  pliilosopliical  symbol. 

Aitareya  (Sk.).  The  nainc  of  an  Araiiyaka  (  Hi-aliinana  i  and  a 
I'panishad  of  tlu'  lii(j  Veda.    Some  of  its  portions  arc  purely  Vcdantic;. 

Aith-ur  (didld.).     Solar  Hrt',  divine  ^]tbcr. 

Aja  (Sl{.).  "Unborn'',  uncreated;  an  epithet  bcb)n<;in^'  to  many  of 
the  i)ri!nordial  trods,  but  especially  to  the  fii-st  Lof/os — a  i-adiation  of  the 
Absolute  on  the  plane  of  illusion. 

Ajitas  (Sk.).  One  of  the  Oeeidt  names  of  the  twelve  great  gods  in- 
carnating in  eaeh  Manvantara.  The  Occultists  identify  them  with  the 
Kumaras.  They  are  called  .Inana  (or  Guana)  Devas.  Also,  a  form  of 
Vishiui  in  the  second  .Manvantara.     Called  also  Jai/as. 

Ajnana  (Sk.).  or  Agyana  ( B(  iiyali).  Non-knowledge;  absence 
of  knowledge  rather  than  "ignorance"  as  generally  translated.  An 
Ajinhi'i,  means  a  "profane". 

Akar  (E<).h  The  proper  name  of  that  division  of  the  Ker-iieter 
infernal  regions,  which  may  be  called  Ilell.  [w.w.w.J 

Akasa  (Sk.).  The  subtle,  supersensuous  spiritual  essence  wbich 
pervarles  all  space ;  the  primordial  substance  erroneously  identified  with 
Kther.  But  it  is  to  Ether  what  Spirit  is  to  Matter,  or  Atnu'i  to  Kdma- 
rupa.  It  is.  in  fact,  the  Universal  Space  in  which  lies  inherent  the  eternal 
Ideation  of  the  Universe  in  its  ever-changing  aspects  on  the  planes  of 
matter  and  objectivity,  and  from  which  radiates  the  Fir.st  Logos,  or  ex- 
pressed thought.  This  is  why  it  is  stated  in  the  Purdnas  that  Aknsa  has 
but  one  attribute  namely  sound,  for  sound  is  but  the  translated  symbol 
of  Logos — "Speech"  in  its  mystic  sense.  In  the  same  sacrifice  (the 
J)/otishtoma  Agnishtonui)  it  is  called  the  "God  Akasa".  In  these  sac- 
rifii-ial  mysteries  Akasa  is  the  all-directing  and  omnipotent  Deva  wiio 
plays  the  part  of  Sadasya,  tiie  superintendent  over  the  magical  effects 
of  the  religious  performance,  and  it  had  its  own  appointed  Hotri  (priest) 
in  days  of  old,  who  took  its  name.  The  Akasa  is  the  indispensable  agent 
of  every  Kritijd  (magical  performance)  religious  or  profane.  The  ex- 
pression "to  stir  up  the  Brahma",  means  to  stir  up  the  power  which  lies 
latent  at  the  bottom  of  every  magical  operation,  Vedic  sacrifices  being 
in  fact  nothing  if  not  ceremonial  magic.  This  power  is  the  Akasa — in 
another  aspect,  Kundalini — occult  electricity,  the  alkahest  of  the  alche- 
mists in  one  sense,  or  the  universal  solvent,  the  same  anima  mundi  on  the 
higher  plane  as  the  astrcd  light  is  on  the  lower.  "At  the  moment  of  the 
sacrifice  the  priest  becomes  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Hi-ahma.  is.  for 
the  time  being,  Bi'ahma  himself".     {Isis  Unveiled). 

Akbar.  The  great  Mogul  Emperor  of  India,  the  famous  patron  of 
religions,  arts,  and  sciences,  the  most  liberal  of  all  the  ^Mussulman 
sovereigns.  There  has  never  been  a  more  tolerant  or  enlightened  ruler 
than  the  Emjx'ror  Akbar,  either  in  India  or  in  any  other  Mahometan 
countrv. 


GLOSSARY  13 

Akiba  (Hcb.).  The  only  one  of  tlic  four  Tanaim  (initiated  prophets 
who,  entering:  the  Garden  of  Delight  (of  the  occult  sciences)  succeeded 
in  getting?  himself  initiat<'d  while  all  the  others  failed.  (See  the  Kab- 
balistic  Rabbis). 

Akshara  (Sk.).  Supreme  Deity;  lit.,  "indt'struetiblf",  fvcr  per- 
fect. 

Akta  (Sk.).  Anointed:  a  title  of  Twashtri  or  Visvakarman.  thi- 
highest  "Creator"  and  Logos  in  the  Rig-Vrda.  He  is  called  the  "Father 
of  the  Gods"  and  "Father  of  the  sacred  Fire".  (See  note  page  101,  Vol. 
ir.,  NVc.  Doct.). 

Akupara  (Sk.).  The  Tortoise,  the  .symbolical  turtle  on  which  thi- 
earth  is  said  to  rest. 

Al  or  El  (Hcb.).  This  deity-name  is  commonly  translated  "God", 
meaning  mighty,  supreme.  The  plural  is  Elohim,  also  translated  in  the 
Bible  by  the  word  C^od,  in  the  singular,    [w.w.w.] 

Al-ait  (Phan.).  The  God  of  Fire,  an  ancient  and  very  my.stic  nanu- 
in  Koptic  Occultism. 

Alaparus  (Chald.).  Tiie  second  divine  king  of  Babylonia  who 
reigned  "three  Sari".  The  first  king  of  the  divine  Dynasty  was  Alorus 
according  to  Berosus.  He  was  "the  appointed  Shepherd  of  the  people" 
and  reigned  ten  Sari  (or  36,000  years,  a  Saros  being  3,600  years). 

Alaya  (Sk.).  The  Universal  Soul  (See  Secret  Doctrine  Vol.  I.  pp. 
47  et  seq.). The  name  belongs  to  the  Tibetan  system  of  the  contemplative 
Mahdydna  School.  Identical  with  Akdsa  in  its  mystic  sense,  and  with 
Mulaprakriti,  in  its  essence,  as  it  is  the  basis  or  root  of  all  things. 

Alba  Petra  (Lat.).  The  white  stone  of  Initiation.  The  "white 
cornelian"  mentioned  in  St.  John's  Revelation. 

Al-Chazari  (Arab.).  A  Prince-Piiilosopher  and  Occultist.  (See 
Book  Al-(li<izari) . 

Alchemists.  From  Al  and  Chemi,  fire,  or  the  god  and  patriarch, 
Khei.m,  also,  the  name  of  Egypt.  The  Rosicrucians  of  the  middle  ages,  such 
as  Robertus  de  Fluctibus  (Robert  Fludd),  Paracelsus,  Tiiomas  Vaughan 
(Eugenius  Piiilalethes),  Van  Helmont,  and  others,  were  all  alche- 
mists, who  sought  for  the  hidelcn  spirit  in  every  inorganic  matter.  Some 
people — nay,  the  great  majority — have  accused  alciiemists  of  charlatanry 
and  false  pretending.  Surely  such  men  as  Roger  Bacon,  Agrippa.  Henry 
Khunrath,  and  the  Arabian  Geber  (the  lirst  to  introduce  into  Europe 
some  of  the  secrets  of  chemistry),  can  hardly  be  treated  as  impostors — 
least  of  all  as  fools.  Scientists  who  are  reforming  the  science  of  physics 
upon  the  basis  of  the  atomic  theory  of  Democritus,  as  restated  by  John 
Dalton,  conveniently  forget  that  Democritus,  of  Abdera,  was  an  alche- 
mist, and  that  the  mind  that  was  capable  of  penetrating  so  far  into  the 
secret  operations  of  nature  in  one  direction  must  have  had  good  reasons 
to  study  and  become  a  Hermetic  philosopher.     Olaus  Borrichius  says 


14  THKOSOl'Jlli  AI, 

tliat  the  crudli'  of  aU'lu'iiiy  is  to  !)»•  sonj^lit   in  tlie  most  distant   tiincs. 
{Is^is  Unveiled.) 

Alchemy,  in  Araltic  I'l-Khi  mi,  is.  as  tlu*  name  sujrjrt'sts,  tlic  dicrnis- 
try  of  natun-.  I'lKhimi  or  Al-K'nnU'i,  liowover,  is  only  an  Arabianizcd 
word,  taken  from  the  (Jreek  ^r,u^'ia  (clu  mfui)  from  Z^f'^ — "juice",  sajt 
extracted  from  a  plant.  Says  Dr.  Wynn  Wo.scott :  "The  earliest  use 
of  the  actual  term  'alchemy'  is  found  in  the  works  of  Julius  Firmicus 
Maternus.  who  lived  in  the  days  of  Constantine  the  Great.  The  Im- 
perial Library  in  Paris  contains  the  oldest  extant  alchemic  treatise 
known  in  Europe;  it  was  written  in-  Zosimus  the  Panopolite  about  400 
A.D.  in  the  Greek  language,  the  next  oldest  is  by  -^jineas  Gazeus,  480  a.d." 
It  deals  with  the  finer  forces  of  nature  and  the  various  conditions  in 
which  they  are  found  to  operate.  Seeking  under  the  veil  of  language, 
more  or  less  artificial,  to  convey  to  the  uninitiated  so  much  of  the  mys- 
trriuni  moffiuim  as  is  safe  in  the  hands  of  a  selfish  world,  the  alchemist 
postulates  as  his  first  jjrinciple  the  existence  of  a  certain  Universal  Sol- 
vent by  which  all  composite  bodies  are  resolved  into  the  homogeneous 
substance  from  which  they  are  evolved,  which  substance  he  calls  pure 
gold,  or  siimma  materia.  This  solvent,  also  called  menstruum  Mmversale, 
possesses  the  power  of  removing  all  tlie  seeds  of  disease  from  the  human 
body,  of  renewing  youth  and  prolonging  life.  Such  is  the  lapis  philoso- 
phorum  (philosoj)her's  stone).  Alcliemy  first  jienetrated  into  Euroj)!' 
through  Geber,  the  great  Arabian  sage  and  philosopher,  in  the  eighth 
century  of  our  era ;  but  it  was  known  and  practised  long  ages  ago  in 
China  and  in  Egypt,  numerous  papyri  on  alchemy  and  other  proofs  of 
its  being  the  favorite  study  of  kings  and  priests  having  been  exhumed 
and  preserved  under  the  generic  name  of  Hermttic  treatises.  (See  "Tab- 
ula Smaragdina").  Alchemy  is  studied  under  three  distinct  aspects, 
which  admit  of  many  different  interpretations,  viz.:  the  Cosmic,  Human, 
and  Terrestrial.  Tliese  three  methods  were  typified  under  the  three 
alchemical  properties — sulphur,  mercury,  and  salt.  Different  writers 
have  stated  that  there  are  three,  seven,  ten,  and  twelve  processes  re- 
spectively ;  but  they  are  all  agreed  that  there  is  but  one  object  in  alchemy, 
which  is  to  transmute  gross  metals  into  pure  gold.  What  that  gold, 
however,  really  is,  very  few  people  understand  correctly.  No  doubt 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  in  nature  as  transmutation  of  the  baser  metals 
into  the  nobler,  or  gold.  But  this  is  only  one  aspect  of  alchemy,  the 
terrestrial  or  purely  material,  for  we  sense  logically  the  same  process 
taking  place  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  Yet,  besides  and  beyond  this 
interpretation,  there  is  in  alchemy  a  symbolical  meaning,  purely  ]xsychic 
and  spiritual.  Wiiile  the  Ka])balist- Alchemist  seeks  for  the  realization 
of  the  former,  the  Occultist-Alchemist,  spurning  the  gold  of  the 
mines,  gives  all  his  attention  and  directs  his  efforts  only  towards  the 
transmutation  of  the  baser  quarternanj  into  the  divine  upper  trinity  of 
man,  which  when  finally  blended  are  one.  The  spiritual,  mental,  psychic, 
and  physical  planes  of  human  existence  are  in  alchemy  compared  to  the 


GLOSSARY  15 

four  elements,  fire,  air,  water  and  earth,  and  are  eaeii  capable  of  a  tiiree- 
fold  constitution,  i.e.,  tixed,  mutable  and  volatile.  Little  or  nothing  is 
known  by  the  word  concc  rninj?  the  origin  of  this  archaic  branch  of  phil- 
osophy; but  it  is  certain  that  it  antedates  the  construction  of  any  known 
Zodiac,  and,  as  dealing  with  the  personified  forces  of  nature,  probably 
also  any  of  the  mythologies  of  tlie  world;  nor  is  there  any  doubt  that  the 
true  secret  of  transmutation  (on  the  j)liysical  i)lane)  was  known  in 
days  of  old,  and  lost  before  tin'  dawn  of  the  so-called  historical  period. 
Modern  chemistry  owes  its  best  fundamental  discoveries  to  alchemy,  but 
regardless  of  the  undeniable  truism  of  the  latter  that  there  is  but  one 
element  in  the  universe,  chemistry  has  placed  metals  in  the  class  of  ele- 
ments and  is  only  now  beginning  to  find  out  its  gross  mistake.  Even 
some  Encyclopaedists  are  now  forced  to  confess  that  if  most  of  the  ac- 
counts of  transmutations  are  fraud  or  delusion,  "yet  some  of  them  are 
accompanied  by  testimony  which  renders  them  probable.  .  .  By 
means  of  the  galvanic  battery  even  the  alkalis  have  been  discovered  to 
have  a  metallic  base.  The  possibility  of  obtaining  metal  from  other 
substances  which  contain  the  ingredients  composing  it,  and  of  changing 
one  metal  into  another  .  .  .  must  therefore  be  left  undecided.  Nor 
are  all  alchemists  to  be  considered  impostors.  ]\Iany  have  laboured  under 
the  conviction  of  obtaining  their  object,  with  indefatigable  patience 
and  purity  of  heart,  which  is  earnestly  recommended  by  sound  alchemists 
as  the  principal  requisite  for  the  success  of  their  labors."  {Pop.  En- 
cyclop.) 

Alcyone  (Gr.),  or  Ilalcyone,  daughter  of  .^Eolus,  and  wife  of  Ceyx, 
who  was  drowned  as  he  was  journeying  to  consult  the  oracle,  upon  which 
she  threw  herself  into  the  sea.  Accordingly  both  were  changed,  through 
the  mercy  of  the  gods,  into  king-fishers.  The  female  is  said  to  lay  her 
eggs  on  the  sea  and  keep  it  calm  during  the  seven  days  before  and  seven 
days  after  the  winter  solstice.  It  has  a  very  occult  significance  in  ornith- 
omancy. 

Alectromancy  (Gr.).  Divination  by  means  of  a  cock,  or  other 
bird ;  a  circle  was  drawn  and  divided  into  spaces,  each  one  allotted  to  a 
letter;  corn  was  spread  over  these  places  and  note  was  taken  of  the  suc- 
cessive  lettered   divisions   from   wliieh    the    bird    took    grains   of   corn. 

[w.w.w.] 

Alethae  (Phan.).  "Fire  Worshippers"  fi"om  Al-ait,  tiie  God  of 
Fire.  The  same  as  the  Kabiri  or  divine  Titans.  As  tlie  seven  emanations 
of  Agruerus  (Saturn)  they  are  connected  with  all  the  fire,  solar  and 
"storm"  gods  (Maruts). 

Aletheia  (Gr.).    Truth;  also  Alethia,  one  of  Apollo's  nurses. 

Alexandrian  School  (of  Philosophers).  This  famous  .school 
arose  in  Alexandria  (Egypt)  which  was  for  several  centuries  the  great 
seat  of  learning  and  philosophy.  Famous  for  its  library,  which  bears 
the  name  of  "Alexandrian",  founded  by  Ptolemy  Soter,  who  died  in  283 


16  TlIKDSorillCAL 

n.C.  at  tilt'  vt'ry  Ix-friiiiiiiifr  of  his  nifrn  ;  that  lihrary  wliu'h  oiicf  boasted 
of  TUO.OOO  rolls  or  voluiiu's  (Aulus  (Jfllius')  ;  for  its  iiuisfum,  the  first 
n-al  acadfiny  of  scifiit'os  ami  arts;  for  its  world-famous  srh<»lars.  such 
as  Euclid  (the  father  of  scientilic  treometry),  Apollonius  of  I'erga  (the 
author  of  tlio  still  extant  work  on  conic  sections),  Nicomachus  (the  arith- 
nutieiaii)  ;  astronomers,  natural  philosophers,  anatomists  such  as  Ilero- 
philus  and  Krasistratus.  physicians,  musicians,  artists,  etc.,  etc.;  it  Ini- 
came  still  more  famous  for  its  Kclectic.  or  the  Stw  Platonic  school, 
founded  in  IJCi  a.  d.,  by  Amm<»nius  Saccas,  who.si'  di.seiples  wen*  Origen. 
IMotinus,  and  many  others  now  famous  in  history.  The  most  ceh'brated 
schools  of  Gnostics  had  their  orijrin  in  Alexandria.  Philo  Judajus,  Jose- 
phus,  lamblichus.  Porphyry,  Clement  of  Alexandria.  Eratosthenes  the 
astronomer.  Ilypatia  the  virtrin  pliilosoj)her.  and  nundjcrle.ss  other  stars 
of  second  ma^niitude.  all  belon<red  at  various  times  to  these  preat  .schools, 
and  helped  to  make  Alexandria  one  of  the  most  .iustly  renowned  seats 
of  learning  that  the  world  has  ever  produced. 
Alhim  (Hch.).     See  "Eloliiiu'. 

Alkahest  (Arab.).  The  universal  solvent  in  Alchemy  (see  "Al- 
chemy"'; but  in  mysticism,  the  Ilijrlier  Self,  the  union  with  which 
makes  of  matter  (lead),  pold,  and  restores  all  compound  things  such  as 
the  human  body  and  its  attributes  to  the  primseval  es.sence. 

Almadel,  the  Book.  A  treatise  on  Thcurgia  or  "White  Magic  by  an 
unknown  media'val  Euroj)ean  author;  it  is  not  infrequently  found  in 
volumes  of  MSS.  called  K<  ys  of  Solomon,      [w.w.w.] 

Almeh  (Arab.).  Dancing  girls;  the  same  as  the  Indian  nautchrs,. 
the  triiiiilc  ami  j)ul)lic  dancers. 

Alpha  Polaris  (LatJ.  The  sanu'  as  Dhruva,  the  pole-star  of  31,105 
years  ajrn. 

Alswider  iSmnd.).    "All-swift",  the  name  of  the  liorst>  of  the  moon, 

ill    the    Kthhis. 

Altruism  (Lot.).  From  alti  r=ot\u'r.  A  quality  opposed  to  ego- 
i>m.   Aetioiis  tending  to  do  good  to  others,  regardless  of  self. 

Alze,  Liber,  de  Lapide  Philosophico.  An  alchemic  treatis»'  by  an 
unknown  German  author;  dated  KJTT.  It  is  to  be  found  reprinted  in  the 
Hermetic  Museum;  in  it  is  the  well  known  design  of  a  man  with  legs 
extended  and  his  body  hidden  by  a  seven  pointed  star.  P^liphaz  Levi 
has  coi)ied  it.      [w.w.w.] 

Ama  (Ilrb.).,  Amia,  (ChahL).  Mother.  A  title  of  Sephira  Binah. 
who.se  "divine  name  is  eJehovah"  and  who  is  called  "Supernal  Mother". 

Amanasa  ^S'A-.^.  The  "Mindless",  the  early  races  of  this  planet: 
also  certain  Hindu  gods. 

Amara-Kosha  (Sk.).  The  "immortal  vocabulary".  The  oldest 
dictionary  known  in  the  world  and  the  most  perfect  vocabulary  of  class- 
ical Sanskrit;  by  Amara  Sinha.  a  sage  of  the  second  century. 


GLOSSARY  17 

Amba  (Sk.).  Tlu*  name  of  tlw  eldest  of  the  seven  Ph  uid4  s,  tlie 
litavtiily  sisters  married  each  to  a  Rishi  l)el()n<rinfr  to  the  Saptarikslui  or 
tlie  scvtii  Kishis  of  tlie  constellation  known  as  the  Great  Bear. 

Ambhamsi  (Sk.).  A  name  of  the  ehief  of  the  Kuraaras,  Sanat- 
Sujata,  si<,'iiifying  the  "waters".  This  epitiiet  will  become  more  com- 
prehensible when  we  remember  that  the  later  tyj)e  of  Sanat-Sujata  was 
Michael,  tiie  Archanfrel,  who  is  called  in  the  Talmud  "the  Prince  of 
Wat(rs",  and  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  rejjarded  as  the  patron 
of  gjulfs  and  promontories.  Sanat-Sujata  is  the  immaculate  son  of  the 
immaculate  mother  (Amba  or  Aditi,  chaos  and  space)  or  the  "waters" 
of  limitless  space.     (See  Scent  Doctrine,  Vol.  I.,  p.  460.) 

Amdo  (Tib.).  A  sacred  locality,  the  birthplace  of  T.son-kha-pa,  the 
great  Tibetan  reformer  and  the  founder  of  the  Gelukpa  (yellow  caps), 
who  is  repjarded  as  an  Avatar  of  Amita-buddha. 

Amen.  Jn  Hebrew  is  formed  of  the  letters  A  M  N  =  1,  40,  50  =  91, 
and  is  thus  a  simile  of  "Jehovah  Adonai''  =  10,  5,  6,  5  and  1,  4,  50,  10 
=91  together;  it  is  one  form  of  the  Hebrew  word  for  "truth".  In  com- 
mon parlance  Amen  is  said  to  mean  "so  be  it",     [w.w.w.] 

But,  in  esoteric  parlance  Amen  means  "the  concealed".  Manetho 
Sebennites  says  the  word  signifies  that  which  is  hi(l(h  n  and  we  know 
througii  Hecata'us  and  others  that  the  Egyptians  used  tiic  word  to  call 
upon  their  great  God  of  Mystery,  Amraon  (or  "Ammas,  the  hidden 
god")  to  make  iiimself  conspicuous  and  manifest  to  them.  Bonomi,  the 
famous  hieroglyphist,  calls  his  worshipj)ers  very  pertinently  the  "Amen- 
oph",  and  ]Mr.  Bonwick  (piotes  a  writer  who  says:  "Amnion,  the  hidden 
god,  will  remain  for  ever  hidden  till  anthropomorphically  revealed;  gods 
who  are  afar  off  are  useless".  Ami-n  is  styled  "Lord  of  the  new-moon 
festival".  Jehovah-Adonai  is  a  new  form  of  the  ram-headed  god  Amoun 
or  Amnion  {q.v.)  who  was  invoked  by  the  Egyptian  priests  under  the 
name  of  Amen. 

Amenti  (Eg.).  Esoterically  and  literally,  the  dwelling  of  the  God 
Amen,  or  Amoun,  or  the  "hidden",  secret  god.  Ivxoterically  the  king- 
dom of  Osiris  divided  into  fourteen  parts,  each  of  which  was  set  aside  for 
some  purpose  connected  with  the  after  state  of  the  defunct.  Among 
other  things,  in  one  of  these  was  the  Hall  of  Judgment.  It  was  the 
"Land  of  tiie  West",  the  "Secret  Dwelling",  the  dark  land,  and  the 
"doorless  house".  But  it  was  also  Kcr-neter,  the  "abode  of  tiie  gods", 
and  the  "land  of  ghosts"  like  the  "Hades"  of  the  Greeks  {q.v.)  It  was 
also  the  "Good  Father's  House"  (in  which  there  are  "many  mansions"). 
The  fourteen  divisions  comprised,  among  many  others,  Aanroo  {q.v.), 
the  hall  of  the  Two  Truth.s,  the  Land  of  Bliss,  Net(r-jrer  "the  funeral 
(or  burial)  place".  ()t<inier-.r<  r,  the  "Silence-loving  Fields",  and  also 
many  other  mystical  halls  ami  dwellings,  one  like  the  Sheol  of  the  He- 
brews another  like  the  Devachan  of  the  Occultists,  etc.,  etc.  Out  of  the 
tifteen  gates  of  tlu-  abode  of  Osiris,  there  were  two  chief  ones,  the  "gate 
of  entrance"  or  Rustu,  and  the  "gate  of  exit"   (reincarnation)   Amh. 


Ig  THEOSniMII'AI. 

But  tluTr  was  no  room  in  Anirnti  to  represent  the  orthodox  Cliristian 
Hell.  The  worst  of  all  was  the  Hall  of  the  eternal  Sleep  and  Darkness. 
As  Lepsius  has  it.  the  defunct  "sleep  (therein)  in  incorrupiibU  forms, 
tlicy  wake  jiot  to  ser  their  hrethren.  they  reeojj:ni/,e  no  lon<rer  father  and 
mother,  their  hearts  feel  nouj^ht  towai-d  their  wife  and  children.  This  is 
the  dwellinjj  of  the  fjod  All-Dead.  .  .  .  Hach  trembles  to  pray  to 
him.  for  he  hears  not.  Nobody  can  prai.se  liim,  for  he  rep:ards  not  tliose 
who  adore  liim.  Neither  does  he  notice  any  olferin<?  brouf^nt  to  him." 
This  pod  is  Karmic  Decree;  tiie  land  of  Silence — the  abode  of  those  who 
ilie  abst)lute  ilisbelievers.  those  dead  from  accident  before  their  allotted 
time,  and  iinally  the  dead  on  the  threshold  of  Avitchi,  which  is  never  in 
Amcnti  or  any  other  subjective  state,  save  in  one  ease,  but  on  this  laud 
of  forced  re-birth.  These  tarried  not  very  long  even  in  their  state  of 
heavy  sleep,  of  oblivion  and  darkness,  but.  were  carried  more  or  less 
speedily  toward  Amh  the  "exit  gate". 

Amesha  Spentas  (Zend).  Anishaspends.  The  six  angels  or 
divine  Forces  i)rrs()nitied  as  gods  who  attend  upon  Ahura  ^lazda,  of 
which  he  is  the  synthesis  and  the  seventh.  They  are  one  of  the  prototypes 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  "Seven  Spirits"  or  Angels  with  Michael  as  chief, 
or  the  "Celestial  Host" ;  the  "Seven  Angels  of  the  Presence".  They  are 
the  Builders.  Cosmocratores,  of  the  Gnostics  and  identical  with  the  Seven 
Prajapatis.  the  Sei)hiroth.  etc.  (q.v.). 

Amitabha.  Tlie  Chinese  perversion  of  the  Sanskrit  Amrita  Bud- 
dha, or  the  "Innnortal  P]nlightened",  a  name  of  Gautama  Buddha.  The 
name  has  such  variations  as  Amita,  Abida,  Amitaya,  ere,  ana  is  ex- 
plained as  meaning  both  "Boundless  Age"  and  "Boundless  Light".  The 
original  concej^tion  of  the  ideal  of  an  impersonal  divine  light  has  been 
anthropomnrpiiized  with  time. 

Ammon  ( E(j.).  One  of  the  great  gods  of  Egypt.  Amnion  or  Amoun 
is  far  older  than  Amoun-Ra,  and  is  identified  with  Baal.  Ilammou,  the 
Lord  of  Heaven.  Amoun-Ra  was  Ra  the  Si)iritual  Suii,  the  "Sun  of 
Righteousness",  etc.,  for — "the  Lord  God  is  a  Sun".  He  is  the  God  of 
Mystery  and  the  hieroglyphics  of  his  name  are  often  reversed.  He  is 
Pan,  All-Nature  esoterically,  and  therefore  the  universe,  and  the  "Lord 
of  Eternity".  Ra,  as  declared  by  an  old  inscription,  was  "begotten  by 
Neith  but  not  engendered".  He  is  called  the  "self-begotten"  Ra,  and 
created  goodness  from  a  glance  of  his  fiery  eye,  as  Set-Typhon  created 
evil  from  his.  As  Ammon  (also  Amoun  and  Amen),  Ra,  he  is  "Lord 
of  the  worlds  enthroned  on  the  Sun's  disk  and  appears  in  the  abyss  of 
heaven".  A  very  ancient  hymn  spells  the  name  "' Amcn-ra",  and  hails 
the  "Lord  of  the  thrones  of  the  earth.  .  .  Lord  of  Truth,  father  of 
the  gods,  maker  of  man,  creator  of  the  beasts,  Lord  of  Existence,  En- 
lightener  of  the  Earth,  sailing  in  heaven  in  tranquillity.  .  .  .  All 
hearts  are  softened  at  beholding  thee,  sovereign  of  life,  health  and 
strength!  We  worship  tlvj  spirit  wlio  alone  maele  lis",  etc.,  etc.  (See 
Bonwicks  Eqiiptian  Belief).     Ammon  Ra  is  called  "his  mother's  hus- 


GLOSSARY  19 

band"  and  her  sou.  (See  "Chuoumis"'  and  "Chnoupliis"  and  also 
Secret  Doctrine  I,  pp.  91  and  393).  It  was  to  the  "ram-headed"  god 
that  the  Jews  sacrificed  Iambs,  and  the  lamh  of  Christian  theology  is  a 
dispruised  reminiscence  of  the  ram. 

Ammonius  Saccas.  A  great  and  good  philosopher  who  lived  in 
Alexandria  between  the  second  and  third  centuries  of  our  era,  and  who 
was  the  founder  of  the  Neo-Platonic  School  of  Philaletheians  or  "lovers 
of  truth".  He  was  of  poor  birth  and  born  of  Christian  parents,  but 
endowed  with  such  prominent,  almost  divine,  goodness  as  to  be  called 
Th( odidaktos,  the  "god-taught".  He  honoured  that  which  was  good  in 
Christianity,  but  broke  with  it  and  the  churches  very  early,  being  unable 
to  find  in  it  any  superiority  over  the  older  religions. 

Amrita  (Sk.).  The  ambrosial  drink  or  food  of  the  gods;  tiie  food 
giving  immortality.  The  elixir  of  life  churned  out  of  the  ocean  of  milk 
in  the  Puranic  allegory.  An  old  Vedic  term  applied  to  the  sacred  Soma 
juice  in  the  Temple  Mysteries. 

Amiilam  Miilam  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  "rootless  root";  Mulaprakiti 
of  the  Vedantins,  the  spiritual  "root  of  nature". 

Amun  (Copt.).  The  Egyptian  god  of  wisdom,  Avho  had  only  Initi- 
ates or  Hierophants  to  serve  him  as  priests. 

Ana  (Chald.).  The  "invisible  heaven"  or  Astral  Light;  the  heav- 
enly mother  of  the  terrestrial  sea.  Mar,  whence  probably  the  origin  of 
Aiina,  the  mother  of  Mary. 

Anacaljrpsis  (Gr.),  or  an  "Attempt  to  withdraw  the  veil  of  the 
Saitic  Isis",  by  Godfrey  lliggins.  This  is  a  very  valuable  work,  now 
only  obtainable  at  extravagant  prices;  it  treats  of  the  origin  of  all 
myths,  religions  and  mysteries,  and  displays  an  immense  fund  of  class- 
ical erudition,     [w.w.w.] 

Anagamin  (Sk.).  Anagam.  One  who  is  no  longer  to  be  reborn 
into  the  world  of  desire.  One  stage  before  becoming  Arhat  and  ready  for 
Nirvana.  The  third  of  the  four  grades  of  holiness  on  the  way  to  final 
Initiation. 

Anahata  Chakram  (Sk.).  The  seat  or  "wheel""  of  life;  flu-  heart, 
according  to  some  commentators. 

Anahata  Shabda  (Sk.).  The  mystic  voices  and  sounds  heard  by 
the  Yogi  at  the  incipient  stage  of  his  meditation.  The  third  of  the  four 
states  of  sound,  otherwise  called  Madhyama — the  fourth  state  being 
when  it  is  perceptible  by  the  physical  sense  of  hearing.  The  sound  in 
its  previous  stages  is  not  heard  excei)t  by  tho.se  who  have  developed 
their  internal,  highest  spiritual  senses.  The  four  stages  are  called  re- 
spectively, Para,  Pashyanti,  Madhyama  and  Vaikhari. 

Anitia  (CJudd.).  A  derivation  from  Ana  (q.v.),  a  goddess  identi- 
cal with  the  Hindu  Annapurna,  one  of  the  names  of  Kali — the  female 
aspect  of  Siva — at  her  best. 


20  THKDSOl'illCAI. 

Analogeticists.  'Plic  (lisciplcs  of  Ammoiiius  Saccas  (<i.v.)  so 
rallfd  hccaiist'  of  tlifir  practice  of  interpret in<r  all  sacred  lejreiuls.  myths 
and  mysteries  by  a  principle  of  analo^ry  ami  cori-es|)ondenee,  which 
is  now  found  in  the  Kahhalistic  system,  and  pre-eminently  so  in  tlie 
Schools  of  Ksoteric  Philosophy,  in  the  East.  (See  "The  Twelve  Signs  of 
the  Zodiac."  hy  T.  Sid)l>a  Row  in  Fivt    Yrars  of  Throsophjj.) 

Ananda  (SI,-.).  Bliss,  joy.  felicity.  liapi)iness.  A  name  of  the  fa- 
vourite disciple  of  (Jautama,  the  Lord  Hucklha. 

Ananda-Lahari  (Sk.).  "The  wave  of  joy";  a  beautiful  poem 
written  hy  Saiikaraeharya.  a  hymn  to  Parvati,  very  mystical  and  occult. 

Anandamaya-Kosha  (Sk.).  "The  illusive  Sheath  of  Bliss",  i.e., 
tile  mayavie  or  illusory  form,  the  appearance  of  that  which  is  formless. 
"Bliss",  or  the  higher  soul.  The  Vedantic  name  for  one  of  the  five 
Koshas  or  "principles"  in  man;  identical  with  our  Atma-Buddhi  or  the 
Spiritual  Soul. 

Ananga  (Sk.).     The  "Bodiless".     An  epithet  of  Kama,  god  of  love. 

Ananta-Sesha  (Sk.).  The  Serpent  of  Eternity — the  couch  of  Vishnu 
durin^r  Pralaya  (lit.,  endless  remain). 

Anastasis   (dr.).     The  continued  existence  of  the  soul. 

Anatu  (ChdUI.).  The  fenude  aspect  of  Anu  (q.v.)  She  represents 
the  Earth  and  Depth,  while  her  consort  represents  the  Heaven  and 
Height.  She  is  the  mother  of  the  god  Hea,  and  produces  heaven  and 
earth.     Astronomically  she  is  Ishtar,  Venus,  the  Ashtoreth  of  the  Jews. 

Anaxagoras  (dr.).  A  famous  Ionian  i)hiIosopher  who  lived  500 
B.C.,  studit'd  philosophy  under  Auaximenes  of  Miletus,  and  settled  in  the 
Jays  of  Pericles  at  Athens.  Socrates,  Euripides,  Archelaus  and  other 
distinguished  men  and  philosophers  were  among  his  disciples  and  pupils. 
He  was  a  most  learned  astronomer  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  explain 
openly  that  which  was  taught  by  Pythagoras  secretly,  namely,  the  move- 
ments of  th(^  i)lanets.  the  eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon,  etc.  It  was  he 
who  taught  the  theory  of  Chaos,  on  the  principle  that  "nothing  comes 
from  nothing"  ;  and  of  atoms,  as  the  underlying  essence  and  substance  of 
all  bodies,  "of  the  same  nature  as  the  bodies  which  they  formed".  These 
atoms,  he  taught,  were  prinuirily  put  in  motion  by  Nuns  (Universal  In- 
telligence, the  Mahat  of  the  Hindus),  which  Nous  is  an  immaterial,  eter- 
nal, spiritual  entity;  by  this  combination  the  world  was  formed,  the 
material  gross  bodies  sinking  down,  and  the  ethereal  atoms  (or  fiery 
ether)  rising  and  spreading  in  the  upper  celestial  regions.  Antedating 
modern  science  by  over  2000  years,  he  taught  that  the  stars  were  of  the 
same  material  as  our  earth,  and  the  sun  a  glowing  mass;  tliat  the  moon 
was  a  dark,  uninhabitable  body,  receiving  its  light  from  the  sun ;  the 
comets,  wandering  stars  or  bodies;  and  over  and  above  the  said  science,  he 
confessed  himself  thoroughly  convinced  that  the  real  existence  of  things. 
perceived  by  our  senses,  could  not  be  demonstrably  proved.  He  died  in 
exile  at  Lampsacui?  at  the  age  of  seventy-two. 


GLOSSARY  21 

Ancients,  The.  A  name  driven  by  Occultif^ts  to  tin-  scvtii  creatiw 
Rays,  l)()rii  of  C'liaos,  or  the  "Deep". 

Anda-Kataha  (Sk.).  The  outer  covering,  or  the  "shell"  of  Brah- 
ma's egg";  the  area  witliin -which  our  manifested  universe  is  encompassed. 

Andragyne  Goat  (of  ]\Iendes).    See  "Baphomet". 

Androgyne  Ray  (Esot.).  The  first  differentiated  ray;  the  Second 
Logos;  Adam  Kadmon  in  the  Kahalah ;  the  "mah'  and  female  created  he 
them",  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis. 

Audumla  (Scand.).  The  symbol  of  nature  in  the  Norse  mythology; 
the  cow  who  licks  the  salt  rock,  whence  the  divine  Buri  is  l)orn.  before 
man's  creation. 

Angaraka  (Sk.).     Fire  Star;  the  planet  Mars;  in  Tibetan,  Miy-mar. 

Augiras.     One  of  the  Prajapatis.     A  son  of  Daksha :  a  lawyer,  etc. 

Angirasas  (Sk.).  The  generic  name  of  several  Puranie  individ- 
uals and  things ;  a  class  of  Pitris,  the  ancestors  of  man :  a  i-iver  in 
Plaksha,  one  of  tiie  Sapta  dinpas  (q.v.). 

Angra  Mainyus  (Zend).  The  Zoroastrian  name  for  Ahriman ; 
the  evil  spirit  of  destruction  and  opposition  who  (in  the  Vrndidad,  Far- 
gard  I.)  is  said  by  Ahura  Mazda  to  "counter-create  by  his  witchcraft" 
every  beautiful  land  the  God  creates;  for  "Angra  Main>ii  is  all  death". 

Anima  Mundi  (Lot.).  The  "Soul  of  the  World",  the  same  as  the 
Alaya  of  the  Northern  Buddhists ;  the  divine  essence  which  permeates, 
animates  and  informs  all,  from  the  smallest  atom  of  matter  to  man  and 
god.  It  is  in  a  sense  the  "seven-skinned  mother"  of  the  stanzas  in  the 
Secret  Doctrine,  the  essence  of  seven  planes  of  sentience,  consciousness 
and  differentiation,  moral  and  physical.  In  its  highest  aspect  it  is  Nir- 
vana in  its  lowest  Astral  Light.  It  was  feminine  with  the  Gnostics,  the 
early  Christians  and  the  Nazarenes;  bisexual  w'ith  other  sects,  who  con- 
sidered it  only  in  its  four  lower  planes.  Of  igneous,  ethereal  nature  in  the 
objective  world  of  form  (and  then  ether),  and  divine  and  spiritual  in  its 
three  higher  i)lanes.  Wiien  it  is  said  that  every  human  soul  was  born  In- 
detaching  itself  from  the  Anima  Mundi,  it  means,  esoterically,  that  our 
higher  Egos  are  of  an  essence  identical  with  It,  which  is  a  radiation  of 
the  ever  unknown  Universal  Absolute. 

Anjala  (Sk.).  One  of  the  per.sonified  j)owers  which  s|)i-ing  from 
Brahma's  body — the  Prajapatis. 

Anjana  (Sk.).    A  serpent,  a  son  of  Kasyapa  Rishi. 

Annamaya  Kosha  (Sk.).  A  Vedantic  term.  The  same  as  Sthidn 
Sluirira  or  the  i)hysieal  body.  It  is  the  first  "sheath"  of  the  five  sheaths 
accepted  by  the  Vedantins,  a  sheath  being  the  same  as  that  which  is 
called  "principle"  in  Theosophy. 

Annapura  (Sk.).    See  "Ana". 

Annedotus  (Gr.).  The  generic  nam(>  for  the  Dragons  or  Men- 
Fishes,  of  which  there  were  five.     The  historian  Berosus  narrates  that 


22  THKosormcAi. 

tin-re  iMsc  (lilt  of  till'  Hr\  tlini-aii  Sra  oii  siv.ral  dccasions  a  st'ini-divinoii 
uaiiifil  Oaimcs  t)r  Aiiiit'dotiis,  who  altlioii^'li  j»art  animal  yet  tau«;lit  tlie 
ClialiU-aiis  iisfful  arts  and  fVt-rytliiiijr  tliat  could  liuiiianis*'  thcin.  (Si't- 
Lt'iioriiiaiit  Chaldron  M(i(/ic,  p.  -iV-i.  and  also  "Oaiuics".)    [w.w.w.] 

Anoia  (dr.).  "Want  of  undiTstandinjr".  "folly".  Anoia  is  tlu* 
name  jrivt-n  l>y  IMato  and  others  to  the  lower  Manas  when  too  closely 
allied  with  Kama,  which  is  iri'ational  (Uf/iioid).  The  (!reek  word  (iptuiin 
is  evidently  a  derivation  from  and  co«;nate  to  the  Sanskrit  word  ajnann 
(phonetically.  a<j»]iana)  or  iffnoraiice,  irrationality,  absence  of  knowl- 
cd<re.     (See  "A«;noia"  an<l  " Ajrno.stic".) 

Anouki  l  Ek.).  A  form  of  Isis;  the  poddess  of  life,  from  which  nam-- 
the  Hebrew  Auk,  life.     (See  "Anuki"). 

Ansumat  (Sh.).  A  Puranic  per.sona«re,  the  "nephew  of  (iO.OOO 
uncles"    Kinjr  Sajrara's  sons,  who  were   reduced  to  ashes   by   a  single 

^'lanee  from  Kapila  Rishi's  "Eye". 

Antahkarana  f  >'/,-.  j,  or  Antaskarana.  The  term  has  various 
meanings,  which  differ  with  every  school  of  philosophy  and  sect.  Thus 
Sankaracharya  renders  the  word  as  "understanding:";  others,  as  "the 
internal  instrument,  the  Soul,  formed  by  the  thinkinp:  principle  and 
egoism";  whereas  the  Occultists  explain  it  as  the  path  or  bridge  between 
the  Higher  and  the  Lower  Manas,  the  tlivine  K(}n,  and  the  personal  Soul 
of  man.  It  .serves  as  a  medium  of  communication  between  the  two,  and 
conveys  from  the  Lower  to  the  Higher  Ego  all  those  personal  impressions 
and  thoughts  of  men  which  can,  by  their  nature,  be  assimilated  and 
stored  by  the  undying  Entity,  and  be  thus  made  immortal  with  it,  these 
being  the  only  elements  of  the  evanescent  Ft  raonalihf  that  survive 
death  and  time.  It  thus  stands  to  reason  that  only  that  which  is  noble, 
spiritual  and  divine  in  man  can  testify  in  Eternity  to  his  having  lived. 

Anthesteria  (dr.).  The  feast  of  Flowei-s  (Floralia):  during 
this  festival  the  rite  of  Baptism  o?-  j)urification  was  jx-rformed  in  the 
Eleusinian  Mysteries  in  the  temj)le  lakes,  the  Limnae.  when  the  Mysta* 
were  made  to  j)ass  through  the  "nari-ow  gate''  of  Dionysus,  to  emerge 
therefrom  as  full  Initiates. 

Anthropology.  The  Science  of  man ;  it  embraces  among  other 
things: — l'h\jswlog\i,  or  that  branch  of  natural  science  which  discloses 
the  mysteries  of  the  organs  and  their  functions  in  men,  animals  and 
plants;  and  also,  and  especially, — I'sj/cholof/;/  or  the  great,  and  in  our 
days,  too  much  neglected  science  of  the  .soul,  both  as  an  entity  distinct 
from  the  spirit,  and  in  its  relation  to  the  spirit  and  body.  In  modern 
science,  psychology  deals  only  or  principally  with  conditions  of  the  ner- 
vous system,  and  almost  absolutely  ignores  the  p.sychical  es.sence  and 
nature.  Physicians  denominate  the  .science  of  insanity  ]).sychology,  and 
name  the  lunacy  chair  in  medical  colleges  by  that  designation.  (Isis  Un- 
veiled.) 

Anthropomorphism   (Cr.i.      Kntni   "anthropns  '   meaning  man.     The 


GLOSSARY  28 

act  of  entlowiiij;  «i:od  or  prods  with  a  liuniaii  form  and  liunian  attributes 
or  qualities. 

Anu  (Hk.).  All  "atom",  a  title  of  Braliiiia,  who  is  said  to  be  an  atom 
just  as  is  the  infinite  universe.  A  hint  at  the  jiantheistie  nature  of  the 
god. 

Anu  (ChaUl.).  One  of  the  liifrliest  of  Babylonian  deities,  'King  of 
Angels  and  Spirits,  Lord  of  the  city  of  Erech".  lie  is  the  Ruler  and 
God  of  Heaven  and  Earth.  Ilis  symbol  is  a  star  and  a  kind  of  Maltese 
cross — emblems  of  divinity  and  sovereignity.  He  is  an  abstract  divinity 
supposed  to  inform  the  whole  expan.se  of  ethereal  space  or  heaven,  while 
ilis  "wife"  informs  the  more  material  planes.  Both  are  the  types  of  thf 
Ouranos  and  Gaia  of  Hesiod.  They  sprang  frtun  the  original  Chaos. 
All  his  titles  and  attriliutes  are  graphic  and  indicate  health.  j)urity  phy- 
sical and  moral,  antiquity  and  holiness.  Anu  was  the  earliest  god  of 
the  city  of  Erech.  One  of  his  sons  was  Bil  or  Vil-Kan,  the  god  of  fire, 
of  various  metals,  and  of  weapons.  George  Smitli  very  pertinently  sees 
in  this  deity  a  close  connection  with  a  kind  of  cross  ])reed  between  "tlie 
biblical  Tubal  Cain  and  the  classical   Vulcan''  who  is  consid- 

ered to  be  moreover  "the  most  j)otent  deity  in  relati(Ui  to  witchcraft  and 
spells  generally". 

Anubis  (Or.).  The  dog-headed  god,  identical,  in  a  certain  aspect, 
with  Ilorus.  He  is  i)re-eminently  the  god  who  deals  with  the  disem- 
bodied, or  the  resurrected  in  post  mortim  life.  An(pou  is  his  P^gyptian 
name.  He  is  a  psyclioi)ompic  deity,  "the  Lord  of  the  Silent  Land  of  the 
West,  the  land  of  the  Dead,  the  prei)arer  of  the  way  to  the  other  world", 
to  whom  the  dead  were  entrusted,  to  be  led  by  him  to  Osiris,  the  Judge. 
In  short,  he  is  the  "embalmer"  and  tiie  "guardian  of  the  dead".  One 
of  the  oldest  deities  in  p]gypt,  Mariette  Bey  having  found  the  image  of 
this  deity  in  tombs  of  the  Third  Dynasty. 

Anugita  (Sk.).  One  of  the  Upanishads.  A  very  occult  tr.-ativ. 
(  Sic  Th(  Sacred  Books  of  the  East). 

Anugraha  (Sk.).     The  eighth  creation  in  the   \'islnni  Piirana. 

Anuki  (Eg.).  See  "Anouki"  supra.  "The  word  Auk  in  Hebrew, 
means  'my  life',  my  being,  which  is  the  personal  pronoun  Anochi,  from 
the  name  of  the  Egyptian  goddess  Anouki",  says  the  author  of  the 
If(I>rnr  Mifstrry,  or  the  ISourcc  of  Mcasuris. 

Anumati   (Sk.).     The  moon  at  the  full ;  when   from  a   god — Soma 
she  becomes  a  goddess. 

Anumitis  (Sk.).     Inference,  deduction  in  philosojihy. 

Anunnaki  (ChahL).  Angels  or  Spirits  of  the  Earth;  terrestrial 
Elementals  also. 

Anunit  (ChaJd.).  The  goddess  of  Akkad  :  Lucifer,  the  morning 
star.     \'tnus  as  the  evening  star  was  Ishtar  of  Erech. 

Anupadaka      (Sk.).        Anupapadaka,      al.so      Aupapaduka ;      means 


24  THKOSOPHICAI. 

"parentloss",  **st»lf-t'xistiiin".  I)<)rii  without  any  pan-iits  or  profrt-nitors. 
A  ttTin  applii'd  to  i-crtain  s<'lf-cn'at«'»l  f^ods.  and  tlu'  Dhyani  Huddhas. 

Anuttara  (Sk.l.  rnriviilltd.  picrli  ss.  Tims  Aiutttanr,  Hodhi 
nuans.  ' '  iiii.'Xft'Ilrd  or  wnrivallfd  intilli^'i-m-f".  Attuttuni  Dhunnn,  uii- 
rivalU'd  law  or  n-lipion,  etc. 

Anyamsam  Aniyasam  (Sk.i.  Ano-rdiiiiii'nisdni  lin  Jifuifjavad 
ifiti'ij.  I. it.,  "tlir  iiii  St  att.iiiic  of  till-  atomic;  smalltst  of  the  small".  Ap- 
plii  il  t«>  the  uiiivi'rsal  di'ity,  wliost-  cssenut'  is  every wluTc. 

Aour  (Chald.).  Tho  synthesis  of  the  two  aspects  of  ustro-(  tlurU 
li^'ht  ;  and  the  od — the  life-«;ivinfr.  and  the  ob — the  death-jrivinp  liplit. 

Apam  Napat  iZind).  A  mysterious  heinfr,  corresponding  to  the 
Fuhiit  iif  tlif  Occultists.  It  is  both  a  Vedic  and  an  Avestian  name. 
Literally,  the  name  means  the  "Son  of  the  Waters"  (of  space,  i.r., 
Ether),  for  in  the  Avcsta  Apam  Napat  stands  between  the  flrc-yazatas 
and  the  wotcr-ifazatas  (See  Stent  Doctrine,  Vol.  II.,  p.  400,  note). 

Apana  (Sk.).  "Inspirational  breatli";  a  practice  in  Yopa,  Prana 
and  (ipi'nia  are  the  "exj>irational "  and  the  "inspirational"  breaths.  It 
is  called  "vital  wind"  in  AniujUd. 

Apap  (Et].},  in  (Jreek  Apophis.  The  symbolical  Serpent  of  Evil.  The 
Solar  Boat  and  the  Sun  are  the  {jreat  Slayers  of  Ai)ap  in  the  Book  of  tfu 
Dead.  It  is  Typhon.  who  havinj;  killed  Osiris,  incarnates  in  Apap,  seek- 
ing to  kill  Ilorus.  Like  Taoer  lor  Ta-np-oir)  the  female  aspect  of  Ty- 
phon, Apap  is  called  "the  devourer  of  the  souls",  and  truly,  since  Apap 
symbolizi's  the  animal  body,  as  matter  left  soulless  and  to  itself.  Osiris, 
beinj;,  like  all  the  other  Solar  gods,  a  type  of  the  Higher  Ego  (Christos), 
Horns  (his  son)  is  the  lower  Manas  or  the  p(  rsonal  Ego.  On  many  a 
moiniment  one  can  see  Horns,  heli)ed  by  a  number  of  dog-headed  gods 
artned  with  crosses  and  spears,  killing  Apap.  Says  an  Orientalist: 
"The  Cioil  Ilorus  standing  as  conqueror  upon  the  Serpent  of  Evil,  may 
be  considered  as  the  earliest  form  of  our  well-known  group  of  St.  George 
(who  is  Michael)  and  the  Dragon,  or  holiness  trampling  down  sin." 
Draconianism  did  not  die  with  the  ancient  religions,  but  has  passed 
bodily  into  the  latest  Christian  form  of  the  worship. 

Aparinamin  (Sk.).  The  Imnuitable  and  the  rnchangeable,  the 
reverse  of  Parinamin,  that  which  is  subject  to  modification,  differen- 
tiation or  dfcay. 

Aparoksha  (Sk.).     Direct  jx'reejjtion. 

Apava  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "He  who  sports  in  tli<-  Water".  Another  a.spect 
of  Xarayana  or  Vishnu  and  of  Brahmii  combined,  for  Apava.  like  the 
latter,  divides  himself  into  two  parts,  male  and  female,  and  creates 
Vishiui,  who  cn-ates  Viraj.  who  cn-att  s  Mann.  The  name  is  explained 
aTid  interpreted  in  various  ways  in  Brahmanical  literature. 

Apavarga  (Sk.).     Emancipation  from  repeated  births. 

Apis    iKi].).   or    Ilnpi-tnikh.      The    "living   deceased    one"    or    Osiris 


GLOSSARY  25 

incarnatt'  in  tlu*  sacrt'd  white  Bull.  Apis  was  tlu-  bull-god  that,  on 
reaching  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  the  age  when  Osiris  was  killed  by 
Typhon — was  put  to  death  with  great  eereniony.  It  was  not  the  Bull 
that  was  worshipped  but  the  Osiridian  symbol ;  just  as  Christians  kneel 
now  before  the  Lamb,  the  symbol  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  their  eluirehes. 

Apocrypha  (Or.).  Very  erroneously  exj)lained  and  adopted  as 
doubtful,  or  spurious.     The  word  means  simply  sicrct,  isotcric,  hidden. 

Apollo  Belvidere.  Of  all  the  ancient  statues  of  Apollo,  the 
son  of  Jupiter  and  Latona,  called  Phopbus,  Ilelios,  the  radiant  and  the 
Sun,  the  best  and  most  perfect  is  the  one  known  by  this  name,  which  is 
in  the  Belvidere  gallery  of  the  Vatican  at  Rome.  It  is  called  the  I'jiihian 
Apollo,  as  the  god  is  represented  in  the  moment  of  his  victory  over  the 
serpent  Python.    The  statue  was  found  in  the  ruins  of  Antium.  in  loO^. 

Apollonius  of  Tyana  (Gr.).  A  wonderful  philosopher  born  in 
Cappadoeia  about  the  beginning  of  the  first  century;  an  ardent  Pytha- 
gorean, who  studied  the  Ph(enician  scit^ices  under  Euthydemus;  and 
Pythagorean  philosophy  and  other  .studies  under  Euxenus  of  lleraclea. 
According  to  the  tenets  of  this  school  he  remained  a  vegetarian  the 
whole  of  his  long  life,  fed  only  on  fruit  and  herbs,  drank  no  wine,  wore 
vestments  made  only  of  j)lant-fibres,  walked  barefooted,  and  let  his  hair 
grow  to  its  full  length,  as  all  the  Initiates  before  and  after  him.  lie  was 
initiated  by  the  i)riests  of  the  temple  of  yEsculapius  (Asclepios)  at  -^gR'. 
and  learnt  many  of  the  "miracles"  for  healing  the  sick  wrought  by  the 
god  of  medicine.  Having  prepared  himself  for  a  higher  initiation  by  a 
silence  of  five  years,  and  by  travel,  visiting  Antioch,  Ephesus,  Pamphy- 
lia  and  other  parts. he  journeyed  via  Babylon  to  India, all  his  intimate  dis- 
eiples  having  abandoned  him,  as  they  feared  to  go  to  the  "land  of  en- 
chantments". A  casual  disciple,  Damis,  however,  whom  he  met  on  his 
way,  accompanied  him  in  his  travels.  At  Babylon  he  was  initiated  by 
the  Chaldees  and  ^lagi,  according  to  Damis,  whose  narrative  was  copied 
by  one  named  Philostratus  a  hundred  years  later.  After  his  return  from 
India,  he  shewed  himself  a  true  Initiate,  in  that  the  pestilences  and 
eartluiuakes,  deaths  of  kings  and  other  events,  which  he  prophesied  duly 
happened.  At  Lesbos,  the  priests  of  Orpheus,  being  jealous  of  him,  re- 
fused to  initiate  him  into  their  peculiar  mysteries,  though  they  did  so 
several  years  later.  He  preached  to  the  people  of  Athens  and  other  cities 
the  purest  and  noblest  etliics,  and  the  phenomena  he  produced  were  as 
wonderful  as  they  were  inimerous  and  well  attested.  "IIow  is  it",  en- 
(piires  Justin  Martyr  in  dismay — "how  is  it  that  the  talismans  (trles- 
ni(ita)  of  Apollonius  have  power,  for  they  ])revent,  as  u'<  see,  the  fury 
of  the  waves  and  the  violence  of  the  winds,  and  the  attacks  of  the  wild 
beasts;  and  u'hilst  our  Lord's  miracles  arc  preserved  by  tradition  alone, 
those  of  Apollonius  arc  wost  numerous  and  actualhj  manifested  in  pres- 
ent facts.^"  ....  ((Juast,  XXIV.).  P)Ut  an  answer  is  easily  found 
to  this  in  the  fact  that  after  crossing  the  Hindu  Kush.  Apollonius  had 


26  THE0S01'11I(  AI- 

bt'i'ii  (lin-ftctl  l)y  a  kiiijr  to  tin-  nlnxh  of  the  Saijvs,  whose  ahod*-  it  may 
be  to  this  day.  by  whom  he  was  taii^dit  uiisurpasst'd  knowh-dpo.  Ilis  dia- 
logues with  the  Corinthian  Meiiipjms  iiuh-eci  fjive  \is  the  esoteric  cat- 
echism and  disclose  (when  understood)  many  an  important  mystery  of 
nature.  Apollonius  was  the  fri<'nd,  correspondent  and  pue.st  of  kinpa 
and  queens,  and  no  marveh)ns  or  "majric"  powers  are  better  attested 
than  his.  At  the  end  of  his  lonj;  and  wonch-rful  life  he  ojx'ned  an  esoteric 
school  at  Ephesus.  and  ilied  afjed  almost  one  hundred  years. 

Aporrheta  (dr.).  Secret  instructions  upon  esoteric  subjeets  triven 
during'  the  Efryptian  and  Grecian  Mysteries. 

Apsaras  (Sk.).  An  rndiiie  or  Water- Xynipli.  from  tlie  Paradise 
or  Heaven  of  Indra.  The  Apsarases  are  in  popular  belief  the  "wives 
of  the  "rods'*  and  called  SiiroiKjaniis,  and  by  a  less  honourable  term 
Sxnuid-atmajds  or  the  "daughters  of  pleasure",  for  it  is  fabled  of  them 
tiuit  when  they  appeared  at  the  churning  of  the  Ocean  neither  Gods 
(Suras)  nor  Demons  (A.suras)  would  take  them  for  legitimate  wives. 
Urvasi  and  several  others  of  them  are  mentioned  in  the  Vcdas.  In 
Occultism  they  are  certain  "sleep-producing"  aquatic  plants,  and  in- 
ferior forces  of  nature. 

Ar-Abu  Nasr-al-Farabi,  called  in  Latin  Alpharabius,  a  Persian, 
and  the  greatest  Aristotelian  i)hilosopher  of  the  age.  He  was  born  in  950 
A.D.,  and  is  reported  to  have  been  nuirdered  in  1047.  He  was  an  Hermetic 
philosopher  and  possessed  the  power  of  hypnotizing  through  music, 
making  those  who  heard  him  i)lay  the  lute  laugh,  weep,  dance  and  do 
wiiat  he  liked.  Some  of  his  works  ou  Hermetic  philosophy  may  be  found 
in  the  Library  of  Leyden. 

Arahat  (Sk.).  Also  i)ronounced  and  written  Arhat,  Arhan,  Rabat, 
&c..  '•the  worthy  one",  lit.,  "deserving  divine  honours".  This  was  the 
name  first  given  to  the  Jain  and  subsequently  to  the  Buddhist  holy  men 
initiated  into  the  esoteric  mysteries.  The  Arhat  is  one  who  has  entered 
the  best  and  highest  path,  and  is  thus  emancipated  from  re-birth. 

Arani  (Sk.).  The  "female  Arani"  is  a  name  of  tin-  Vedic  Aditi 
(esoterically,  the  womb  of  the  world).  Arani  is  a  Swastika,  a  disc-like 
wooden  vehicle,  in  which  the  Brahmins  generated  fire  by  friction  with 
pramantha,  a  stick,  the  symbol  of  the  male  generator.  A  mystic  cere- 
mony with  a  world  of  secret  meaning  in  it  and  very  sacred,  perverted 
into  phalli(!  significance  by  the  materiali-sm  of  the  age. 

Aranyaka  (Sk.).  Holy  hermits,  sages  who  dwelt  in  ancient  India 
in  forests.   Also  a  portion  of  the  Vcdas  containing  Upanishads,  etc. 

Araritha  (Jlrb.).  A  very  famous  .seven-lettered  Kabbalistic  won- 
derwonl ;  its  numeration  is  818;  its  letters  are  collected  by  Notaricon 
from  the  .sentence  "one  principle  of  his  unity,  one  beginning  of  his 
individuality,  his  change  is  unity",      [w.w.w.] 

Arasa  Maram  (Sk.).  The  Hindu  sacred  tree  of  knowledge.  In 
occult  pliilosoi)hy  a  mystic  word. 


GLOSSARY  27 

Arba-il  ChahL).  Tln'  Four  Great  Gods.  Arba  is  Arainaic  for 
four,  and  il  is  the  same  as  Al  or  El.  Three  male  deities,  and  a  female 
who  is  vir<iinal  .\-et  reproduetive,  form  a  very  common  ideal  of  Godhead. 

I  w.w.w] 

Archangel  (dr.).  llij^hest  supreme  anpel.  From  the  Greek  (inh, 
"chief"  or  "primordial",  and  angclos,  "messenger". 

Archaeus  (Or.).     "The    Ancient".     Used    of    the    oldest    manifested 
deity;  a  term  employed  in  the  Kabalah  ;  "arcliaic",  old,  ancient. 
Archobiosis  (dr.).     Primeval  befjinninji:  of  life. 

Archetypal  Universe  (Kah.).  The  ideal  nnivcrs<>  upon  wliich  the 
objective  Avoi'ld  was  ])uilt.    [w.w.w.] 

Archons  (dr.).  In  ])rofane  and  bil)lieal  lan«ruafr»'  "rulers"  and 
princes;  in  Occultism,  primordial  planetary  spirits. 

Archontes  (Gr.).  The  archangels  after  becoming  Frroutrs  (q.v.) 
or  tiieir  own  shadows,  having  mission  on  earth  ;  a  mystic  ubiquity  ;  imply- 
ing a  double  life ;  a  kind  of  hypostatic  action,  one  of  purity  in  a  higher 
region,  the  otlier  of  terrestrial  activity  exercised  on  our  plane.  (See 
ramliliclius,  De  Mijstcriis  II.,  Chap.  3.) 

Ardath  (Hrb.).  This  word  occurs  in  the  Second  Book  of  Esdras, 
ix.,  26.  The  name  has  been  given  to  one  of  the  recent  "occult  novels" 
where  much  interest  is  excited  by  the  visit  of  the  hero  to  a  field  in  the 
Holy  Land  so  named ;  magical  properties  are  attributed  to  it.  In  the 
Book  of  Esdras  the  prophet  is  sent  to  this  field  called  Ardath  "where 
no  house  is  builded"  and  bidden  "eat  there  onbf  the  flowers  of  the  field, 
taste  no  flesh,  drink  no  wine,  and  pray  unto  the  highest  continually,  and 
then  will  I  come  and  talk  witii  thee",      [w.w.w.] 

Ardha-Nari  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "half-woman".  Siva  represented  as 
Androgynous,  as  half  male  and  half  female,  a  tyjie  of  male  and  female 
energies  combined.    (See  occult  diagram  in  Isis  UnvciUci,  Vol.  II.) 

Ardhanariswara  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  bi-sexual  lord".  Esoterically. 
the  unpolari/ed  states  of  cosmic  energy  symbol i/.ed  by  the  Kal)alistic 
Sephira,  Adam  Kadmon,  etc. 

Ares.  The  Greekname  for  ^Mars,  god  of  war ;  also  a  term  used  by 
Paracelsus,  the  differentiated  Force  in  Cosmos. 

Argha  (Chald.).  The  ark,  tiie  womb  of  Nature;  the  crescent  moon, 
and  a  life-saving  ship ;  also  a  cup  for  offering.s,  a  vessel  used  for  religious 
ceremonies. 

Arghyanath  (Sk.).    Lit.,  "lord  of  libations". 

Arian.  A  follower  of  Arius,  a  presbyter  of  the  Church  in  Alexan- 
dria in  the  fourth  century.  One  who  holds  that  Christ  is  a  created  and 
human  being,  inferior  to  God  the  Father,  though  a  grand  and  noble  man, 
a  true  adept  versed  in  all  the  divine  mysteries. 

Aristobulus    (Gr.).     An    Alexandrian    writer,    and    an    obscure    phi- 


28  TIIFOSOPIIirAL 

losojihrr.    A  Jew  who  triid  to  provi-  tliat  AiMstotlc  explained  the  esoteric 
thoujrlits  of  Moses. 

Arithmomancy  <(ir.).  Tin-  scicnci-  of  corrfspoiult'iict's  hflwccn 
pods,  men,  and  numlurs,  as  tau^rlit  by  Pvtiiaporas.      [w.w.w.] 

Arjuna  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  "white".  The  tliird  of  the  five  Brothers 
Paiidii  (>!•  the  reputed  Sons  of  Indra  (esoterieally  the  satne  as  Orpheus). 
A  diseiph'  of  Krishna,  who  visited  him  and  married  Snd)hadrA.  his  sister, 
besides  many  other  wives,  aeeordinjr  to  the  allegory.  During:  the  fratri- 
cidal war  between  the  Kauruvas  and  the  Pandavas,  Krishna  instructed 
him  in  the  hi«rhest  philosophy,  while  serving  as  his  charioteer.  (See  Bha 
(jarnd  Gita.) 

Ark  of  Isis.  At  the  jrreat  Kjryptian  annual  ceremony,  which  took 
place  in  tiie  month  of  Athyr,  the  boat  of  Isis  was  borne  in  procession  by 
the  priests,  and  Cullyrian  cakes  or  buns,  marked  with  the  sipn  of  the 
cross  (Tat),  were  eaten.  This  was  in  commemoration  of  the  weepinor  of 
Isis  for  the  lo.ss  of  Osiris,  the  Athyr  festival  beinf;  very  impressive.  "Plato 
refers  to  tiu>  melodies  on  the  occasion  as  beinp  very  ancient,"  writes 
^Ir.  Honwick  {Eg.  Briirf  and  Mod.  Thought).  "The  Miserere  in  Rome 
has  been  said  to  be  similar  to  its  melancholy  cadence,  and  to  be  derived 
from  it.  Wecpinff,  veiled  virgins  followed  the  ark.  The  Names,  or 
veiled  virgins,  wept  also  for  the  loss  of  our  Saxon  forefathers'  god,  the 
ill-fated  but  good  Baldur." 

Ark  of  the  Covenant.  Every  ark-shrine,  whether  witli  the  Egyp- 
tians, Hindus.  Chaldeans  or  Mexicans,  was  a  phallic  shrine,  the 
symbol  of  the  i/oiti  or  womb  of  nature.  The  seket  of  tlie  Egyptians,  the 
ark.  or  sacred  chest,  stood  on  the  ara — its  pedestal.  The  ark  of  Osiris, 
with  the  sacred  relics  of  the  god.  was  "of  the  same  size  as  the  Jewisli 
ark",  says  S.  Sharpe,  the  Egyptologist,  carried  by  priests  with  staves 
passed  through  its  rings  in  sacred  procession,  as  the  ark  round  which 
danced  David,  the  King  of  Israel.  Mexican  gods  also  had  their  arks. 
Diana,  Ceres,  and  other  goddesses  as  well  as  gods  had  theirs.  The  ark 
was  a  boat — a  vehicle  in  every  case.  "Tiiebes  had  a  sacred  ark  300 
cubits  long,"  and  "the  word  Thebes  is  said  to  mean  ark  in  Hebrew," 
which  is  but  a  natural  recognition  of  the  place  to  which  the  chosen  peo- 
ple are  indebted  for  their  ark.  ^Moreover,  as  Bauer  writes,  "the  Cherub 
was  not  first  used  by  Moses."  The  winged  Isis  was  the  cherub  or  Arieh 
in  Egypt,  centuries  before  the  arrival  there  of  even  Abram  or  Sarai. 
"The  external  likeness  of  some  of  the  Egyptian  arks,  surmounted  by 
their  two  winged  liuman  figures,  to  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  has  often 
been  noticed."  {Bible  Educator.)  And  not  only  the  "external"  but 
the  internal  "likeness"  and  sameness  are  now  known  to  all.  The  arks, 
whether  of  the  covenant,  or  of  honest,  straightforward,  Pagan  sj-mbol- 
isra,  had  originally  and  now  have  one  and  the  same  meaning.  The 
chosen  people  appropriated  the  idea  and  forgot  to  acknowledge  its 
source.     It  is  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the  "Urim"  and  "Thummin" 


GLOSSARY  29 

{q.iK).  In  Egyj)t,  as  shown  by  many  Efryptologifits,  the  two  objects 
were  the  emblems  of  the  Two  Truths.  "Two  fibres  of  Re  and  Thmei 
were  worn  on  tlie  breast-plate  of  the  Epryj)tian  Ilif^h  Priest.  Thmi'. 
y)lnral  iJnnin,  meant  truth  in  Hebrew.  Wilkinson  says  the  figure  of 
Trutli  had  closed  eyes.  Kost-ilini  speaks  of  the  Thmd  beinfr  worn  as  a 
necklace.  Diodorus  gives  such  a  necklace  of  gold  and  stones  to  the  High 
Priest  when  delivering  judgment.  The  Septuagint  translates  Thummin 
as  Truth".     (Bonwick's  Egijp.  Belief.) 

Arka  (Sk.).    The  Sun. 

Arkites.  The  ancient  prit-sls  who  wt-rc  attached  to  tln'  Ark, 
whether  of  Isis.  oi-  the  Hindu  Argua,  and  who  were  seven  in  number, 
like  the  priests  of  tlie  Egyptian  Tat  or  any  other  cruciform  symbol  of  the 
three  and  the  four,  the  combination  of  which  gives  a  male-female  number. 
The  Arqha  (or  ark)  was  the  four-fold  female  principle,  and  the  flann- 
burning  over  it  the  triple  lingham. 

Aroueris  (Or.).  The  god  Harsiesi,  who  was  the  elder  Horns.  Hi 
had  a  temjile  at  Ambos.  If  we  bear  in  mind  the  definition  of  the  chief 
Egyptian  gods  by  Plutarch,  these  myths  will  become  more  comprehen- 
sible; as  he  well  says:  "Osiris  represents  the  beginning  and  jirinciple; 
Isis,  that  which  receives;  and  Horus,  the  compound  of  both.  Horus  en- 
gendered between  them,  is  not  eternal  nor  incorruptible,  but,  being  al- 
ways in  generation,  he  endeavours  by  vicissitudes  of  imitations,  and  In 
periodical  passion  (yearly  re-awakening  to  life)  to  continue  always 
young,  as  if  he  should  never  die."  Thus,  since  Horns  is  the  personified 
physical  world,  Aroueris,  or  the  "elder  Horus",  is  the  ideal  Universe: 
and  this  accounts  for  the  .saying  tliat  "he  was  begotten  by  Osiris  and 
Isis  when  these  were  still  in  the  bosom  of  their  mother" — Space.  There 
is  indeed,  a  good  deal  of  mystery  about  this  god,  but  the  meaning  of  the 
.symbol  becomes  clear  once  one  has  the  key  to  it. 

Artephius.  A  great  Hermetic  philosojiher.  whose  true  name  was 
never  known  and  who.se  works  are  without  dates,  though  it  is  known  that 
he  wrote  his  Secret  Book  in  the  Xllth  century.  Legend  has  it  that  he  was 
one  thousand  years  old  at  that  time.  There  is  a  book  on  dreams  by  him 
in  the  possession  of  an  Alchemist,  now  in  Bagdad,  in  which  he  gives  out 
the  secret  of  .seeing  the  i)ast,  tlie  present  and  the  future,  in  sleep,  and 
of  remembering  the  things  seen.  There  are  but  two  copies  of  this  manu- 
script extant.  The  book  on  Dnama  by  the  Jew  Solomon  Almulus,  pub- 
lished in  Hebrew  at  Amsterdam  in  1642.  has  a  few  reminiscences  from 
the  former  work  of  Artephius. 

Artes  (Eg.).     The  Earth;  the  Egyptian  god  Mars. 

Artufas.  A  generic  name  in  South  America  and  the  islands  for 
temples  of  nngalism  or  serpent  worship. 

Arundhati  (Sh.).     The  "Morning  Star";  Lucifer- Venus. 

Arupa  (Sk.).  "Bodiless",  formless,  as  opposed  to  rvpa,  "body", 
or  form. 


30  TiiEosopnirAL 

Arvaksrotas    (Sk.).      The    scvmlh    crciitidn,    that    of    iiiaii.    in    the 
\'islniu  I'lirana. 

Arwaker  (Scand.).  Lit.,  ".•arly  wak.-r".  Tht-  horsr  (.1"  the  chariot 
of  tile  8un  driven  by  tlie  maiden  !Sol,  in  the  Eddas. 

Arya  ^S'A•J.  Lit.,  "the  holy";  orifjinally  the  tith-  of  Rishis.  those 
who  had  mastered  the  "Aryasatyani"  (q.v.)  and  entered  the  Arvani- 
margfa  path  to  Nirvana  or  Moksha.  the  f?reat  "fonr-fold"  path.  *  But 
now  the  name  has  become  the  epithet  of  a  raee,  and  our  Orientalists,  de- 
privinj:  the  Hindu  Brahmans  of  tlieir  birth-rifrht.  have  made  Aryans  of 
all  Euroi)eans.  In  esoterieisni,  as  the  four  paths,  or  stapres,  can  be  entered 
only  owing  to  great  spiritual  development  and  "growth  in  holiness", 
they  are  called  the  "four  fruits".  The  de^^rees  of  Arhatship.  called 
respectively  Srotapatti,  Sakridagamin,  Anagamin,  and  Arhat,  or  the 
four  classrs  of  Aryas,  correspond  to  these  four  paths  and  truths. 

Arya-Bhata  (Sk.).  The  earliest  Hindu  algebraist  and  astron- 
omer, with  the  exception  of  Asura  Maya  (g.v.)  ;  the  author  of  a  work 
called  Arjia  Siddhanta,  a  system  of  Astronomy. 

Arya-Dasa  (Sk.).  LAt.,  "Holy  Teacher".  A  great  sage  and  Arhat 
of  tiie  Mahasamghika  school. 

Aryahata  (Sk.).     The  "Path  of  Arhatshij)",  or  of  holiness. 

Aryasangha  (Sk.).  The  Founder  of  the  firi^t  Yogacharya  School. 
This  Arhat,  a  direct  disciple  of  Gautama,  the  Buddha,  is  most  unac- 
countably mixed  up  and  confounded  witli  a  personage  of  the  same  name, 
who  is  said  to  have  lived  in  Ayodhya  (Oude)  about  the  fifth  or  sixth 
century  of  our  era,  and  taught  Tantrika  worsliip  in  addition  to  the 
Yogjieharya  system.  Those  who  sought  to  make  it  popular,  claimed  that 
he  was  the  same  Aryasangha,  that  had  been  a  follower  of  Sakyamuni. 
and  that  he  was  1,000  years  old.  Internal  evidence  alone  is  sutlicient 
to  show  that  the  works  written  by  him  and  translated  about  the  year  600 
of  our  era,  works  full  of  Tantra  worship,  ritualism,  and  tenets  followed 
now  considerably  by  the  "red-cap"  sects  in  Sikhim,  Bhutan,  and  Little 
Tibet,  cannot  be  the  same  as  the  lofty  system  of  the  early  Yogacharya 
.school  of  pure  Buddhism,  which  is  neither  northerji  nor  southern,  but 
absolutely  esoteric.  Though  none  of  the  genuine  Yogacharya  books  (the 
Narjol  chodpa)  have  ever  been  made  public  or  marketable,  yet  one  finds 
in  the  Yogdcharjfa  Bhumi  Shdstra  of  the  pscuc/o-Aryasangha  a  great 
deal  from  the  older  system,  into  tlie  tenets  of  which  he  may  liave  been 
initiated.  It  is,  however,  so  mixed  uj)  with  Sivaism  and  Tantrika  magic 
and  superstitions,  that  the  work  defeats  its  own  end,  notwithstanding 
its  remarkable  dialectical  subtilty.  How  unreliable  arc  the  conclusions  at 
which  our  Orientalists  arrive,  and  how  contradictory  the  dates  assigned 
by  them,  may  be  seen  in  the  case  in  hand.  While  Csoma  de  Koriis  (who, 
by-the-bye,  never  became  acquainted  with  the  Gelukpa  (yellow-caps), 
but  got  all  his  information  from  "red-cap"  lamas  of  tlie  Borderland), 
places  the  psc udo- Aryasdu^ha  in  the  seventh  century  of  our  era;  Was- 


GLOSSARY  31 

siljow,  who  passed  most  of  his  life  in  Cliina,  proves  liiin  to  liave  lived 
much  earlier;  and  Wilson  (see  Roy.  Ah.  Hoc,  Vol.  VI..  p.  240),  speaking 
of  the  period  when  Ar.vasangha's  works,  which  are  .still  extant  in  Sans- 
krit, were  written,  believes  it  now  "established,  that  they  have  been 
written  at  the  latest,  from  a  century  and  a  half  before,  to  as  much  after, 
the  era  of  Christianity."  At  all  events  since  it  is  beyond  disjnite  that 
the  Mahayana  reli^'ions  works  were  all  written  far  before  Aryasangha's 
time — whether  he  lived  in  the  "second  century  b.  c",  or  the  "seventh 
A.  D." — and  that  these  contain  all  and  far  more  of  the  fundamental 
tenets  of  the  Yogacharya  system,  so  disfigured  by  the  Ayodhyan  imitator 
— the  inference  is  that  there  must  exist  somewhere  a  genuine  rendering 
free  from  popular  Sivaism  and  left-hand  magic. 

Aryasatyani  (Sk.).  The  four  truths  or  the  four  dogmas,  which 
are  (1)  Dukha,  or  that  mi.sery  and  pain  are  the  unavoidable  concomitants 
of  sentient  (esoterically,  physical)  existence:  (2)  Saniudaya,  the  truism 
that  suffering  is  intensified  by  human  passions;  (3)  Nirodha,  that  the 
crushing  out  and  extinction  of  all  such  feelings  are  possible  for  a  man 
"on  the  path";  (4)  Mdrga,  the  narrow  way,  or  that  jtath  which  leads 
to  such  a  blessed  result. 

Aryavarta  (Sk.).  The  "land  of  the  Aryas",  or  India.  The 
ancient  name  for  Northern  India,  where  the  Brahmanical  invaders 
("from  the  Oxus"  say  the  Orientalists)  first  settled.  It  Is  erroneous  to 
give  this  name  to  the  whole  of  India,  since  Manu  gives  the  name  of  "the 
land  of  the  Aryas"  only  to  "the  tract  between  the  Himalaya  and  the 
Vindhya  ranges,  from  the  eastern  to  the  western  sea." 

Asakrit  Samadhi  (Sk.).  A  certain  degree  of  ecstatic  contem- 
plation.  A  stage  in  Samadhi. 

Asana  (Sk.).  The  third  stage  of  Ildtli/i  Yoya,  one  of  the  prescribed 
postures  of  meditation. 

Asat  (Sk.).  A  philosophical  term  meaning  "non-bi-ing".  or  rather 
non-be-ness.  The  "incomprehensible  nothingness".  Sat,  the  immutable, 
eternal,  ever-present,  and  the  one  real  "Be-ness"  (not  Being)  is  spoken 
of  as  being  "born  of  Asat,  and  Asat  begotten  by  Sat".  The  unreal,  or 
Prakriti,  objective  nature  regarded  as  an  illusion.  Nature,  or  the  illusive 
.shadow  of  its  one  true  essence. 

Asathor  (Scand.).  The  same  as  Thor.  The  god  of  .storms  and 
thunder,  a  hero  who  receives  Miolnir,  tiie  "storni-hammer",  from  its 
fabricators,  the  dwarfs.  With  it  he  conquers  Alwin  in  a  "battle  of 
words";  breaks  the  head  of  the  giant  Ilrungir,  chastises  Loki  for  his 
magic;  destroys  tlie  whole  race  of  giants  in  Thrymheim;  and,  as  a  good 
and  benevolent  god,  sets  up  therewith  land-marks,  sanctifies  marriage 
bonds,  blesses  law  and  order,  and  produces  every  good  and  terrific  feat 
with  its  help.  A  god  in  the  Eddas,  who  is  almost  as  great  as  Odin.  (See 
"Miolnir"  and  "Thor's  Hammer".) 


32  TIIEOSOIMIICAL 

Asava  Samkhaya  (rali).  Tli.-  'tiuality  of  tli.-  stivam",  one  of 
tlif  .six  ■■  Aliliijiia.s"  (7. 1'.).  A  pliriunut'iial  knowlcd-jc  of  tlif  finality  of 
the  stream  of  life  and  the  s«'ries  of  rebirths. 

Asburj.  One  of  the  lefri-ndary  pt-aks  in  the  Ti-ncrilTc  ranjre.  A 
^rrt-at  mountain  in  the  traditions  of  Iran  which  corresponds  in  its  allepor- 
ieal  meaninjr  to  the  World-mountain.  Mcru.  Ashurj  is  that  mount  "at 
the  foot  of  which  tile  sun  sets". 

Asch  Metzareph  (Ihh.).  Tin-  Clransin^'  Kiiv.  a  Kahhalistio 
treatise,  treatinjr  of  Alcliiiny  and  the  relation  hetween  the  metals  and 
the  planets,      [w.w.w.] 

Ases  (Scand.).  Tin*  creators  of  the  Dwarfs  and  Elves,  the  Ele- 
nieiitals  below  men.  in  the  Xorse  lays.  They  arc  the  prop-ny  of  Odin  ;  the 
same  as  the  ^Ksir. 

Asgard  (Scdiid).  The  kin^'dom  and  the  habitat  of  the  Xorse  pods. 
the  Scandinavian  Olympus;  situated  "higher  than  the  Home  of  the 
Lipht-Elves".  but  on  the  same  plane  as  Jotunheim,  the  home  of  the 
Jotuns.  the  wicked  piants  versed  in  mapic,  with  whom  the  pods  are  at 
eternal  war.  It  is  evident  that  the  pods  of  Aspard  are  the  .same  as  the 
Fndian  Sums  (pods)  and  the  Jotuns  as  the  Asiinis.  both  representinp  the 
<-ontlictinp  powers  of  nature — beneficent  and  maleficent.  They  are  the 
prototypes  also  of  the  Greek  pods  and  the  Titans. 

Ash  (Ilih.).  Fire,  whether  physical  or  synd)olical  fire;  also  found 
written  in  Enplish  as  As,  Aish  and  Esch. 

Ashen  and  Langhan  (Kolarian).  Certain  ceremonies  for  cast- 
inp  out  evil  spirits,  akin  to  those  of  exorcism  with  the  Christians,  in  nse 
with  the  Kolarian  tribes  in  India. 

Asherah  (Ilih.).  A  word,  which  occurs  in  the  Old  Testament, 
and  is  commoidy  tran.slated  "proves"  referrinp  to  idolatrous  worship, 
but  it  is  probable  that  it  really  referred  to  ceremonies  of  sexual  deprav- 
ity;  it  is  a  feminine  noun,      [w.w.w.) 

Ashmog  (Ziti(l).  The  Drapon  or  Serpent  a  monster  with  a  camel's 
neck  in  the  Arfsta;  a  kind  of  allcporical  Satan,  who  after  the  Fall, 
"lost  its  nature  and  its  name".  Called  in  the  old  Hebrew  (Kabbalistic) 
texts  the  "flyinp  camel";  evidently  a  reminiscence  or  tradition  in  both 
eases  of  the  prehistoric  or  antediluvian  monsters,  half  bird,  half  reptile. 

Ashtadisa  (Shj.  The  eipht-faced  space.  An  imapinary  division 
nt  space  represented  as  an  octagon  and  at  other  times  as  a  dodecahedron. 

Ashta  Siddhis  (Sk.).  The  eipht  cojisummations  m  the. practice 
of  Hatha  ^'opa. 

Ashlar  Vidya  (Sh.).  The  most  ancient  of  the  Hindu  works  on 
Mapic.  Tliouph  there  is  a  claim  that  the  entire  work  is  in  the  hands  of 
.some  Occulti.sts,  yet  the  Orientalists  deem  it  lo.st.  A  very  few  fragments 
of  it  are  now  extant,  and  even  these  are  very  much  disfipured. 

Ash    Yggdrasil    (Scand.).     The  "Mundane    Tree",    the    Svndx)!    of 


GLOSSARY  33 

the  World  with  the  ohl  Norsemen,  the  "trt-c  of  the  universe,  of  time  and 
of  life".  It  is  ever  frrct-n,  for  the  Xorns  of  Fate  sprinkle  it  daily  with 
the  water  of  life  from  tlic  fountain  of  Urd.  whieh  flows  in  Midjiard.  The 
dragron  Xidhofrjr  <rnaws  its  roots  incessantly,  the  dra^'on  of  Evil  and  Sin  ; 
but  the  Ash  Y{rj;drasil  cannot  wither,  until  the  Last  Hattle  (the  S»'Vt'nth 
Race  in  the  Seventh  Round)  is  foujrht.  when  life,  time,  and  the  world 
will  all  vanish  and  disappear. 

Asiras  (Skj.  Klfincntals  without  heads:  //'/.,  "headless";  usi-d 
also  of  the  first  two  lunnaii  races. 

Asita  (Sk.).     A  proj)er  name;  a  son  of  Bharata  ;  a  Rishi  and  a  Sajre. 

Ask  (Scand.)  or  Ash  tree.  The  "tree  of  Knowled-re".  Together 
with  tile  Enihla  (alder)  the  Af;k  was  the  tree  from  whieh  the  pods  of 
A.sgard  created  the  tirst  man. 

Aski-kataski-haix-tetrax-damnameneus-aision.  TIu-m-  mystic  words, 
wliieli  Athanasius  Kirelier  tells  us  meant  "Darkness,  Light,  Earth.  Sun. 
and  Truth",  were,  .says  Ile.sycliius,  engraved  upon  the  zone  or  belt  of 
the  Diana  of  Ephesus.  Plutarch  says  that  the  priests  used  to  recite 
these  words  over  persons  who  were  posses.sed  by  fievils.      [w.w.w.] 

Asmodeus.  The  Persian  Acshma-dri\  the  Eshani-rhv  of  the  Parsis, 
"the  evil  Spirit  of  C'oncupi.seence",  according  to  Hreal,  whom  the  Jews 
approi)riate(l  under  the  name  of  Ash))udai,  "the  Destroyer",  the  Tal- 
mud identifying  the  creature  with  Beelzebub  and  Azrael  (Angel  of 
Death),  and  calling  him  the  "King  of  the  Devils". 

Asmoneans.  Priest-kings  of  Israel  whose  dynasty  reigned  over  tlu- 
Jews  for  12(3  years.  They  promulgated  the  Canon  of  the  Mosaic  Testa- 
ment in  contradistinction  to  the  "Apocrypha"  (r/.?-.)  or  Secret  Books 
of  the  Alexandrian  Jews,  the  Kabbalists,  and  maintained  the  deaddetter 
meaning  of  the  former.  Till  the  time  of  John  Ilyrcanus,  they  were 
Aseedeans  (Chasidim)  and  Pharisees;  but  later  they  became  SadductM^s 
or  Zadokifts,  asserters  of  Sacerdotal  rule  as  contradistinguished  from 
Rabbinical. 

Asoka  (Sk.).  A  celebrated  Indian  king  of  the  Morya  dynasty  which 
reigned  at  ^lagadha.  There  were  two  Asokas  in  reality,  according  to 
the  chronicles  of  Northern  Buddhism,  though  the  first  A.soka — the  grand- 
father of  the  .second,  nanu-.l  by  Prof.  Max  Miiller  the  "Constantine  of 
India",  was  !)etter  known  by  his  name  of  ('li:mdragupta.  It  is  the  former 
who  was  called. /'wf/</.si  (Pali)  "the  beautifid",  and  Dnu'niam-pina  "the 
beloved  of  the  gods",  and  also  Kalnsoka;  while  the  name  of  his  grandson 
was  Dharmasokd — the  Asoka  of  the  good  law — on  accouni  of  his  de- 
votion to  Buddhism.  .Moreover,  according  to  the  same  source,  the 
second  Asoka  had  never  followed  the  P>rahmanical  faith,  but  was  a 
Buddhist  born.  It  was  his  grandsire  who  had  been  tirst  converted  to 
the  new  faith,  after  which  he  had  a  nund)er  of  edicts  inscribed  on  jdllars 
and  rocks,  a  custom  followed  also  by  his  grandson.  But  it  was  the  second 


34  THEOSOPHKAL 

Asoka  who  was  tlu*  most  zealous  supporter  of  Buddlusni ;  lu',  wlio  main- 
tained in  his  j)alac'C'  from  GO  to  70.000  monks  and  i)riests.  wlio  erected 
84,000  topes  and  stupas  tliroufihout  India,  reijrned  30  years,  and  sent 
missions  to  Ceylon,  and  throug^hout  the  world.  The  inscriptions  of  var- 
ious edicts  publislied  by  him  display  most  noble  ethical  sentiments,  es- 
pecially the  edict  at  Allaliabad.  on  tlie  so-called  " Asoka 's  column",  in 
the  Fort.  The  sentimi-nts  are  lofty  and  poetical,  breatliinf?  tenderness 
for  animals  as  well  as  men,  and  a  lofty  view  of  a  kind's  mission  witli  re- 
gard to  his  peoj)le,  that  might  be  followed  with  great  success  in  the  pres- 
ent age  of  cruel  wars  and  barbarous  vivisection. 

Asomatous  (Or.).  Lit.,  without  a  material  body,  incorporeal;  used 
of  celestial  Beings  and  Angels. 

Asrama  (Sk.).  A  sacred  ])uil(liiig,  a  monastry  or  hermitage  for 
ascetic  purposes.   Every  sect  in  India  has  its  Ashrams. 

Assassins.  A  masonic  and  mystic  order  founded  l)y  Hassan  Sabali 
in  Persia,  in  the  eleventh  century.  The  word  is  a  European  perversion  of 
"Hassan",  which  forms  the  chief  part  of  the  name.  They  w^re  simply 
Sufis  and  addicted,  according  to  the  tradition,  to  hascheesh-catitig, 
in  order  to  bring  about  celestial  visions.  As  shown  by  our  late 
brother  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  "they  were  teachers  of  the  secret  doctrines 
of  Islamism;  they  encouraged  mathematics  and  philosophy,  and  pro- 
duced many  valuable  works.  The  chief  of  the  Order  was  called  Sheik- 
el-Jebel.  translated  the  'Old  Man  of  the  Mountains',  and,  as  their  Grand 
Master,  he  possessed  power  of  life  and  death." 

Assorus  (Chald.).  The  third  group  of  progeny  (Kissan  and  As- 
sorus)  from  the  Babylonian  Duad,  Tauthe  and  Apason,  according  to  the 
Theogonies  of  Damascius.  From  this  last  emanated  three  others,  of 
which  series  the  last,  Aus,  begat  Belus — "the  fabricator  of  the  World, 
the  Demiurgus", 

Assur  (Chald.).  A  city  in  Assyria;  the  ancient  seat  of  a  lil)rary 
from  which  George  Smith  excavated  the  earliest  known  tablets,  to  which 
he  assigns  a  date  about  1500  B.C.,  called  Assur  Kileh  Shergat. 

Assurbanipal  (Chald.).  The  Sardanapalus  of  the  Greeks,  "the 
greatest  of  the  Assyrian  Sovereigns,  far  more  memorable  on  account  of 
his  magnificent  patronage  of  learning  than  of  the  greatness  of  his  em- 
pire", writes  the  late  G.  Smith,  and  adds:  "Assurbanipal  added  more  to 
the  Assyrian  royal  library  than  all  the  kings  ivho  had  gone  hefore  him". 
As  the  distinguished  Assyriologist  tells  us  in  another  place  of  his  "Baby- 
lonian and  Assyrian  Literature"  (Chald.  Account  of  Genesis)  that  "the 
majority  of  the  texts  preserved  belong  to  the  earlier  period  previous  to 
B.C.  1600",  and  yet  asserts  that  "it  is  to  tablets  written  in  his  (Assur- 
banipal's)  reign  (b.c.  673)  that  we  owe  almost  all  our  knowledge  of  the 
Babylonian  early  history",  one  is  well  justified  in  asking,  "How  do  you 
know?" 


GLOSSARY  35 

Assyrian  Holy  Scriptures.  Orientalists  show  seven  such  books: 
the  Books  of  Mamit,  of  Worship,  of  Interpretations,  of  Going  to  Hades; 
two  Prayer  Books  (Kanmagarri  and  Kaninikri:  Talbot)  and  the  Kan- 
tolite,  the  lost  Assyrian  Psalter. 

Assyrian  Trcr  of  Lifr.  "Ashcrah''  ((j.v.).  It  is  translated  in  tlie 
Bible  by  "grove''  and  occurs  30  times.  It  is  called  an  "idol";  and 
Maaehali,  the  grandmother  of  Asa,  King  of  Jerusalem,  is  accused  of 
having  made  for  herself  such  an  idol,  which  was  a  lingham.  For  centuries 
this  was  a  religious  rite  in  Judaea.  But  the  original  Asherah  was  a  pillar 
with  seven  branches  on  each  side  surmounted  by  a  globular  flower  with 
three  projecting  rays,  and  no  phallic  stone,  as  the  Jcics  made  of  it,  but 
a  metaphysical  symbol.  "^lereiful  One,  who  dead  to  life  raises!"  was 
the  prayer  uttered  before  the  Asherah,  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates. 
The  "Merciful  One",  was  neither  the  personal  god  of  the  Jews  who 
brought  the  "grove"  from  their  captivity,  nor  any  extra-cosmic  god, 
but  the  higher  triad  in  man  symbolized  by  the  globular  flower  with  its 
three  rays. 

Asta-dasha  (Sk.).     Perfect,  Supreme  Wisdom;  a  title  of  Deity. 

Aster 't  (Heh.).  Astarte,  the  Syrian  goddess  the  consort  of  Adon, 
or  Adonai. 

Astraea  (Or.).  Tlie  ancient  goddess  of  justice  whom  the  wicked 
ness  of  men  drove  away  from  earth  to  heaven,  wherein  she  now  dwells 
as  the  constellation  Virgo. 

Astral  Body,  or  Astral  "Double".  The  ethereal  counterpart  or 
shadow  of  man  or  animal.  The  Linga  Sharira,  the  "Doppelgiinger". 
The  reader  must  not  confuse  it  with  the  Astr.vl  Soul,  another  name 
for  the  lower  Manas,  or  Kama-]\Ianas  so-called,  the  reflection  of  the 
Higher  Ego. 

Astral  Light  (Occult.).  Tlie  invisible  region  that  surrounds  our 
globe,  as  it  does  every  other,  and  corresponding  as  the  second  Principle  of 
Kosmos  (the  third  being  Life,  of  which  it  is  the  vehicle)  to  the  Linga 
Sharira  or  the  Astral  Double  in  man.  A  subtle  Essence  visible  only  to 
a  clairvoyant  eye,  and  the  lowest  but  one  {viz.,  the  earth),  of  the  Seven 
Akasic  or  Kosmic  Prineii)les.  Eliphas  Levi  calls  it  the  great  Serpent 
and  the  Dragon  from  which  radiates  on  Humanity  every  evil  influence. 
This  is  .so;  but  why  not  add  that  the  Astral  Light  gives  out  nothing  but 
what  it  lias  received ;  that  it  is  the  great  terrestrial  crucible,  in  which 
the  vile  emanations  of  the  earth  (moral  and  physical)  upon  which  the 
Astral  Light  is  fed,  are  all  converted  into  their  subtlest  essence,  and  ra- 
diated back  intensified,  thus  becoming  epidemics — moral,  psychic  and 
physical.  Finally,  the  Astral  Light  is  the  same  as  the  Sidereal  Light  of 
Paracelsus  and  other  Hermetic  philosophers.  "Physically,  it  is  the  ether 
of  modern  science.  ^Metaphysically,  and  in  its  spiritual,  or  occult  sen.se, 
ether  is  a  great  deal  more  than  is  often  imagined.  In  occult  physics, 
and  alchemv.  it  is  well  demonstrated  to  enclose  within  its  shoreless  waves 


36  THEOS()I']II('AL 

not  only  Mr.  'I'vikImU  "s  'proniist  and  j)oti'iK'y  of  cvci-y  (juality  of  lift', 
but  also  the  /•(  (ili-iitiuii  of  tin-  potem-y  of  cvrry  quality  of  spirit.  Alche- 
mists and  IlcriiU'tists  lu'licvt'  that  tlu'ir  astral,  or  sidereal  other,  besides 
the  above  i)roperties  of  sulphur,  and  white  and  red  inajinesia,  or  magtics, 
is  the  anima  mundi,  the  workshop  of  Nature  and  of  all  the  Kosraos. 
spiritually,  as  well  as  physically.  The  'grand  mafristerium'  a.sserts  it- 
self in  the  phenomenon  of  mesmerism,  in  the  'levitation'  of  human  and 
inert  objects;  and  may  be  called  the  ether  from  its  spiritual  aspect.  The 
desijrnation  dstral  is  ancient,  and  was  used  by  some  of  the  Xeo-platonists, 
altlioujrli  it  is  claimed  by  some  that  the  word  was  coined  by  the  Mar- 
tinists.  Porphyry  describes  the  celestial  body  which  is  always  joined 
with  the  soul  as  'immortal,  luminous,  and  star-like'.  The  root  of  tiiis 
word  nuiy  be  found,  perhai)s,  in  the  Scythic  Aist-an- — which  means  star, 
or  the  As.syrian  Isiar,  which.  accordiii<r  to  Burnouf  has  the  .same  sen.se." 
{Isis  Unveiled.) 
Astrolatry  (Gr.).     Worsliip  of  the  Stars. 

Astrology  ((ir.).  The  Science  which  defines  the  action  of  celestial 
bodies  upon  mundane  affairs,  and  claims  to  foretell  future  events  from 
the  position  of  the  stars.  Its  antiquity  is  such  as  to  place  it  among  the 
very  earliest  records  of  human  learning.  It  remained  for  long  ages  a 
secret  science  in  the  East,  and  its  final  expression  remains  so  to  this 
day,  its  exoteric  application  having  boon  brought  to  any  degree  of  per- 
fection in  the  West  only  during  the  ])eriod  of  time  since  Varaha  Muhira 
wrote  his  book  on  Astrology  some  UOO  years  ago.  Claudius  Ptolemy, 
the  famous  geographer  and  matiiematician,  wrote  his  treatise  Tctrabiblos 
about  13o  A.D.,  which  is  still  the  basis  of  modern  astrology.  The  science 
of  Horoscopy  is  studied  now  chiefly  under  four  heads:  viz.,  (1)  Mun- 
dane, in  its  application  to  meteorology,  seismology,  husbandry,  etc.  (2) 
State  or  civic,  in  regard  to  the  fate  of  nations,  kings  and  rulers.  (3) 
Horary,  in  reference  to  the  solving  of  doubts  arising  in  the  mind  upon 
any  subject.  (4)  Gcncthliacal,  in  its  application  to  the  fate  of  individ- 
uals from  the  moment  of  their  birth  to  their  deatii.  Tlie  Egyptians  and 
the  Chaldees  were  among  the  most  ancient  votaries  of  Astrology,  though 
their  modes  of  reading  the  stars  and  the  modern  i)ractices  differ  con- 
siderably. The  former  claimed  that  Belus,  the  Bel  or  Elu  of  the  Chal- 
dee.s,  a  scion  of  the  divine  Dynasty,  or  the  Dynasty  of  the  king-gods,  had 
belonged  to  the  land  of  Chenii,  and  had  left  it,  to  found  a  colony  from 
P^gypt  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  where  a  temple  ministered  by 
priests  in  the  .service  of  the  "lords  of  the  stars"  was  built,  the  said 
priests  adopting  the  name  of  Chaldeea.  Two  things  are  known:  (a) 
that  Thebes  (in  Egypt)  claimed  the  honor  of  the  invention  of  Astrology; 
and  (&)  that  it  was  the  Chaldees  who  taught  that  science  to  the  other 
nations.  Now  Thebes  antedated  con.siderably  not  only  "Ur  of  the  Chal- 
dees", but  also  Nipur,  where  Bel  was  fir.st  worshipped — Sin,  his  son 
(the  moon),  being  the  presiding  deity  of  Ur,  the  land  of  the  nativity 
of  Terah,  the  Sabean  and  x\strolatrer,  and  of  Abram.  his  son,  the  great 


GLOSSARY  37 

Astrologer  of  biblical  tradition.  All  ti-nds,  therefore,  to  corroborate  the 
Egyptian  claim.  If  later  on  the  name  of  Astrologer  fell  into  disrepute 
in  Rome  and  elsewhere,  it  was  owing  to  the  fraud  of  those  who  wanted 
to  make  monev  by  means  of  that  wiiich  was  part  and  parcel  of  the  sacred 
Science  of  thi'  :\iystories,  and.  ignorant  of  the  latter,  evolv«'d  a  system 
based  entirely  upon  mathematics,  instead  of  on  transcendental  meta- 
physics and  having  the  physical  celestial  bodies  as  its  upadhi  or  material  ^ 
basis.  Yet,  all  persecutions  notwithstanding,  the  number  of  tiie  adher- 
ents of  Astrology  among  the  most  intellectual  and  scientific  minds  was 
always  very  great.  If  Garden  and  Kei)ler  were  among  its  ardent  sup- 
porters, then  its  later  votaries  have  nothing  to  blush  for,  even  in  its  now 
imperfect  and  distorted  form.  As  said  in  J  sis  Unveiled  (1.  259)  :  "As- 
trology is  to  exact  astronomy  what  psycliology  is  to  exact  physiology. 
In  asTrology  and  psychology  one  has  to  step  beyond  the  visible  ^yorld  of 
matter,  and  enter  into  tlie  domain  of  transcendent  spirit."  (See  "Astro- 
iiomos. ") 

Astronomos  (Gr.).  The  title  given  to  the  Initiate  in  the  Seventii 
Degree  of  the  reception  of  the  Mysteries.  In  days  of  old.  Astronomy 
was  synonvmous  with  Astrology-;  and  the  great  Astrological  Initiation 
took  place  "in  Egypt  at  Thebes,  where  the  priests  perfect.'d,  if  they  did 
not  wholly  invent  the  science.  Having  passed  tlirougli  tlie  degrees  of 
Pastophoros,  Ncocoros,  Mclanophoros,  Kistophoros,  and  Balahidn  (the 
degree  of  Chemistry  of  the  Stars),  the  neophyte  was  taught  the  mystic 
signs  of  the  Zodiac,  in  a  circle  dance  representing  the  course  of  the 
planets  (the  dance  of  Krishna  and  the  Gopis,  celebrated  to  this  day  in 
Rajputana)  ;  after  which  he  received  a  cross,  the  Tau  (or  Tat), _ becom- 
ing an  Astronomos  and  a  Healer.  (See  Isis  Unvfihd.  Vol.  II.  365).  As- 
tronomy and  Chemistry  were  inseparable  in  these  studies.  "Hippo- 
crates had  so  lively  a  faith  in  the  influence  of  the  stars  on  animated  be- 
ings, and  on  their  diseases,  that  he  expressly  recommends  not  to  trust 
to^'phvsicians  who  are  ignorant  of  astronomy."  (Arago.)  Unfortu- 
nately the  key  to  the  final  door  of  Astrology  or  Astronomy  is  lost  by  the 
modern  Astrologer ;  and  witiiout  it,  how  can  he  ever  be  able  to  answer 
the  pertinent  remark  made  by  the  author  of  Mazzoroth,  who  writes: 
"people  are  said  to  be  born  under  one  sign,  while  in  reality  they  are  born 
under  another,  because  fh(  sun  is  now  seen  among  different  stars  at  the 
equinox".^  Nevertheless,  even  the  few  truths  he  does  know  brought  to 
his  science  such  eminent  and  scientific  believers  as  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
Bishops  Jeremy  and  Hall.  Arelii)ishoi)  Usher,  Drydeii,  Flamstead.  Ash- 
mole,  Jolin  :\liitoii,  Steele,  and  a  host  of  noted  Rosicrucians. 

Asura  Mazda  (Sk.).  In  the  Zend,  Ahum  Mazda.  TUr  same  as 
Orniuzd  or  .Ma/<leo;  the  god  of  Zoroaster  and  tlie  Parsis. 

Asuramaya  (Sk.).  Known  also  as  Mayasnra.  An  Atlantean  astron- 
omer, considered  as  a  great  magician  and  sorcerer,  well  known  in  Sans- 
krit works. 


38  TIIEOSOPIIICAL 

Asuras  (Sk.).  Exotfrically.  clcincMtals  and  i-vil  grods — considered 
malctic'tnt ;  demons,  and  no  {rods.  But  esoterically — the  reverse.  For 
in  tlie  most  ancient  i)(>rtions  of  the  Rig  Veda,  the  term  is  used  for  the 
Supreme  Spirit,  and  therefore  the  A.suras  are  spiritual  and  divine.  It 
is  only  in  the  last  book  of  the  h'ig  Veda,  its  latest  part,  and  in  the  Atharva 
V(da,  and  the  Brdhmanas,  that  the  epithet,  which  had  been  griven  to  Agni, 
the  greatest  Vedic  Deity,  to  Indra  and  Varuna,  has  come  to  signify  the 
reverse  of  gods.  Asu  means  breath,  and  it  is  with  liis  breath  that  Praja- 
pati  (Braiima)  creates  the  Asuras.  AVlien  ritualism  and  dogma  got  the 
better  of  the  Wisdom  religion,  the  initial  letter  a  was  adopted  as  a  nega- 
tive prefix,  and  the  term  ended  by  signifying  "not  a  god",  and  Sura  only 
a  deity.  But  in  the  Vedas  the  Suras  have  ever  been  connected  with 
Surya.  the  sun,  and  regarded  as  inferior  deities,  devas. 

Asw  amedha  (Sk.).  The  Ilorse-sacrifice ;  an  ancient  Brahmanical 
ceremony. 

Aswattha  (Sk.).     The  Bo-frcc,  the  tree  of  knowledge,  ficus  religiosa. 

Aswins  (Sk.),  or  Aswinau,  dual;  or  again,  Aswim-Kumarau,  are  the 
most  mysterious  and  occult  deities  of  all;  who  have  "puzzled  the  oldest 
commentators".  Literally,  they  are  the  "Horsemen",  the  "divine  char- 
ioteers", as  they  ride  in  a  golden  car  drawn  by  horses  or  birds  or  ani- 
mals, and  "are  possessed  of  many  forms".  They  are  two  Vedic  deities, 
the  twin  sons  of  the  sun  and  the  sky,  which  becomes  the  nymph  Aswini. 
In  mythological  symbolism  they  are  "the  bright  harbingers  of  Ushas, 
the  dawn",  who  are  "ever  young  and  handsome,  bright,  agile,  swift  as 
falcons",  who  "prepare  the  way  for  the  brilliant  dawn  to  those  who 
have  patiently  awaited  through  the  night".  They  are  also  called  the 
"physicians  of  Swarga"  (or  Devaclum),  inasmuch  as  they  heal  every 
pain  and  suffering,  and  cure  all  diseases.  Astronomically,  they  are 
asterisms.  They  were  enthusiastically  worshipped,  as  their  epithets  show. 
They  are  the  "Ocean-born"  {i.e.,  space  born)  or  Ahdhijau,  "crowned 
with  lotuses"  or  Pushkara-srajam ,  etc., etc.  Yaska,  the  commentator  in  the 
Nirukta,  thinks  that  "the  Aswins  represent  the  transition  from  dark- 
ness to  liglit" — cosraically,  and  we  may  add,  metaphysically,  also.  But 
^luir  and  Goldstiicker  are  inclined  to  see  in  them  ancient  "horsemen  of 
great  renown",  because,  forsooth,  of  the  legend  "that  the  gods  refused 
the  Aswins  admittance  to  a  sacrifice  on  the  ground  that  they  had  been 
on  too  fayniliar  terms  with  men".  Just  so,  because  as  explained  hy  the 
same  Yaska  "they  are  identified  with  heaven  and  earth",  only  for  quite 
a  different  reason.  Truly  they  are  like  the  Rihhus,  "originally  renowned 
mortals  (but  also  non-renowned  occasionally)  who  in  the  course  of  time 
are  translated  into  the  companionship  of  gods";  and  they  show  a  nega- 
tive character,  "the  result  of  the  alliance  of  light  with  darkness",  sim- 
ply because  these  twins  are.  in  the  esoteric  philosophy,  the  Kumdra-Egos, 
the  reincarnating  "Principles"  in  this  Manvantara. 

Atala  (Sk.).    One  of  the  regions  in  the  Hindu  lokas,  and  one  of  the 


GLOSSARY  39 

seven  mouutaiii.s ;  but  esoterically  Atala  is  on  an  astral  plane,  and  was, 
once  on  a  time,  a  real  island  upon  this  earth. 

Atalanta  Fugiens  (Lat).  A  famous  treatise  by  the  eminent  Rosi- 
erueian  .Mirliad  Maier;  it  has  many  beautiful  eiifrravinprs  of  Al- 
chemic symbolism:  here  is  to  be  found  tiie  ori«irinal  of  the  picture  of  a 
man  and  woman  within  a  circle,  a  triangle  around  it,  then  a  square :  the 
inscription  is,  "From  the  first  ens  proceed  two  contraries,  thence  come 
the  three  principles,  and  from  them  the  four  elementary  states ;  if  you 
separate  tlie  pure  from  the  impure  you  will  have  tlie  stone  of  the  Philos- 
ophers", [w.w.w.] 

Atarpi  (Chald.),  or  Atarpi-nisi,  tlie  "man".  A  personafre  who  was 
"pious  to  the  gods";  and  who  prayed  the  god  Hea  to  remove  the  evil 
of  drought  and  other  things  before  the  Deluge  is  sent.  The  story  is 
found  on  one  of  the  most  ancient  Babylonian  tablets,  and  relates  to  the 
sin  of  the  world.  In  the  words  of  G.  Smith  "the  god  Elu  or  Bel  calls 
together  an  assembly  of  the  gods,  his  sons,  and  relates  to  them  tliat  he 
is  angry  at  the  sin  of  the  world ' ' ;  and  in  the  fragmentary  phrases  of  the 
tablet :  "  .  .  .  .  I  made  them  ....  Their  wickedness  I  am 
angry  at,  their  puiiislimment  shall  not  be  small  ....  let  food  be 
exhausted,  above  let  Vul  drink  up  his  rain",  etc.,  etc.  In  answer  to 
Atarpi 's  prayer  the  god  Ilea  announces  his  resolve  to  destroy  the  people 
he  created,  which  he  does  finally  by  a  deluge. 

Atash  Behram  (Zend).  The  sacred  fire  of  the  Parsis,  preserved 
})erpetually  in  tlieir  fire-temples. 

Atef  (Eg.),  or  Crown  of  Horns.  It  consisted  of  a  tall  white  cap 
witii  ram's  horns,  and  the  urceus  in  front.  Its  two  feathers  represent  the 
two  truths — life  and  death. 

Athamaz  (lid).).  The  same  as  Adonis  with  the  Greeks,  the  Jews 
having  borrowed  all  their  gods. 

Athanor  (Occult.).  The  "astral"  fluid  of  the  Alchemists,  their 
Archimedean  lever;  exoterically,  the  furnace  of  the  Alchemist. 

Atharva  Veda  (i:ik.).  The  fourth  Veda;  lit.,  magic  incantation 
containing  aphorisms,  incantations  and  magic  formulne.  One  of  the  most 
ancient  and  revered  Books  of  the  Brahmans. 

Athenagoras  (Or.).  A  Platonic  philosopher  of  Atlieiis,  who 
wrote  a  Greek  Apology  for  the  Christians  in  a.d.  177,  addressed  to  the 
Emporer  Marcus  Aurelius,  to  prove  tliat  tlie  accusations  brought  again.st 
them,  namely  that  they  were  incestuous  and  ate  murdered  children,  were 
untrue. 

Athor  (Eg.).  "Mother  Night"".  Primeval  Chaos,  in  the  Egyptian 
cosmogony.   The  goddess  of  night. 

Ativahikas  (Sk.).  With  the  Visishtadwaitees,  these  are  the  Pitris, 
or  D(  I'ds,  who  help  the  disembodied  soul  or  Jiva  in  its  transit  from  its 
dead  body  to  Paramapadha. 


40  T1IK(>S()I']II(AI- 

Atlantidae  (dr.).  Tlu*  aiict'stoi-s  of  the  IMiaraolis  and  the  I'on-- 
fatliti's  (if  the  Kfiyptians,  aecordiiij;  to  some,  and  as  tlu'  Esoteric  Science 
teaches.  (See  St  c.  Doct.,  Vol.  II.,  and  Ksottric  Buddhis-ni.)  Plato  heard 
of  this  hij;hly  civilized  i)eoj)le,  the  last  remnant  of  whieh  was  sul)mer<jed 
9.000  years  before  his  day,  from  Solon,  who  had  it  from  the  Ilijrh  Priests 
of  Egypt.  Voltaire,  the  eternal  scotTer,  was  rijrht  in  stating  that  "the 
Atlantichv    (our  fourth    Root    Race)    made   their   ai)pearance   in   Egypt. 

.  .  .  .  It  was  in  Syria  and  in  Phrygia.  as  well  as  Egypt,  that  they 
established  the  worship  of  the  Sun."  Occult  pliilosophy  teaches  that 
the  Egyj)tians  were  a  remnant  of  the  last  Aryan  Atlantida-. 

Atlantis  (Or.).  The  continent  that  was  submerged  in  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Pacific  Oceans  according  to  the  secret  teachings  and  Plato. 

Atma  (or  Atman)  ((Sk.).  The  Universal  Spirit,  the  divine  Monad, 
the  7th  Princijile,  so-called,  in  the  septenary-  constitution  of  man.  The 
Supreme  Soul. 

Atma-bhu    (Sk.).    Soul-existence,  or  existing  as  soul.    (See  "Alaya".") 

Atmabodha  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "Self-knowledge"  the  title  of  a  Vedan- 
tic  treatise  by  Sankaracharya. 

Atma-jnani  (Sk.).  The  Knower  of  tlie  AVoi-ld-Soul.  or  Soul  in 
general. 

Atma-matrasu  (Sk.).  To  enter  into  the  elements  of  the  "One-Self". 
(See  S(c.  Duct.  1.,  334.).  Atmamatra  is  the  spiritual  atom,  as  contrasted 
with,  and  opposed  to.  the  elementary  differentiated  atom  or  molecule. 

Atma  Vidya  (Sk.).  The  highest  form  of  spiritual  knowledge;  lit., 
"Soul-knowledge". 

Atri,  Sons  of  (Sk.).  A  class  of  Pitris,  the  "ancestors  of  man",  or 
the  so-called  Prajapati,  "progenitors";  one  of  the  seven  Rishis  who 
form  the  constellation  of  the  Great  Bear. 

Attvada  (Pali.).    The  sin  of  personality. 

Atyantika  (Sk.).  One  of  tlie  four  kinds  of  praluya  or  dissolution. 
The  "absolute"  pralaya. 

Atziluth  (Ilcb.).  The  highest  of  the  Four  Worlds  of  the  Kab- 
halah  referred  only  to  the  pure  Spirit  of  God.  [w.w.w.]  See  "Azi- 
luth"  for  another  interpretation. 

Audlang  (Scand.).  The  second  heaven  nuide  by  Deity  above  the 
field  of  Ida,  in  the  Norse  legends. 

Audumla  (Scand.).  The  Cow  of  Creation,  tlie  "nourisher",  from 
which  flowed  four  streams  of  milk  which  fed  the  giant  Ymir  or  Orgelmir 
(matter  in  ebullition)  and  his  sons,  the  Ilrimthurses  (Frost-giants), 
before  the  appearance  of  gods  or  men.  Having  nothing  to  graze  upon 
.she  licked  the  salt  of  the  ice-rocks  and  thus  produced  Buri,  "the  Pro- 
ducer" in  his  turn,  who  had  a  son  Bor  (the  born)  who  married  a 
daughter  of  the  Frost  Giants,  and  had  three  sons,  Odin  (Spirit),  Wili 
(Will),  and  We  (Holy).   The  meaning  of  the  allegory  is  evident.    It  is 


GLOSSARY  41 

the  precosmic  union  of  the  elements,  of  Spirit,  or  tlie  creative  Force, 
with  Matter,  cooh'd  and  still  seethin":,  which  it  forms  in  accordance  with 
universal  Will.  Then  the  Asrs,  "the  pillars  and  sujiports  of  thr  World" 
{Cosmocraiorrs),  ntvp  in  and  crtatf  as  All-father  wills  them. 

Augoeides  (Gr.).  Bulwer  Lytton  calls  it  the  "Luminous  Self", 
or  our  Iliy:her  Ego.  Hut  Occultism  makes  of  it  something:  distinct  from 
this.  It  is  a  mystery.  The  Au(jO(  idrs  is  the  luminous  divinf  radiation 
of  the  Ego  which,  when  incarnatt-d,  is  but  its  shadow — pure  as  it  is  yet. 
This  is  explained  in  the  Amshaspt  nrls  and  their  Firourrs. 

Aum  (Sk.).  The  sacred  syllable;  the  tripledettered  unit;  li.-nce  the 
ti-iiiity  in  one. 

Aura  (fir.  and  LafJ.  A  subtle  invisible  essence  or  Huid  that  eTuan- 
ates  from  human  and  animal  bodies  and  even  things.  It  is  a  psychic 
effluvium,  i)artaking  of  both  the  mind  and  the  body,  as  it  is  the  electro- 
vital,  and  at  the  same  time  an  electro-mental  aura ;  called  in  Thecsophy 
the  akasic  or  magnetic  aura. 

Aurnavabha  (Sk.).     An  ancient  Sanski-it  commentator. 

Aurva  (Sk.).  The  Sage  who  is  credited  witli  tlie  invention  of  the 
"fiery  Aveapon"  called  Agncydstra. 

Ava-bodha  (8k.).     "Mother  of  Knowledge".     A  title  of  Aditi. 

Avaivartika  (Sk.).  An  epithet  of  every  Buddha:  ///.,  one  who 
turns  no  more  back;  who  goes  straight  to  Nirvana. 

Avalokitesw^ara  (Sk.).  "The  on-looking  Lord".  In  the  exoteric 
interpretation,  he  is  Padmapani  (the  lotus  bearer  and  the  lotus- 
born)  in  Tibet,  the  first  divine  ancestor  of  the  Tibetans,  the  complete 
incarnation  or  Avatar  of  Avalokiteswara ;  but  in  esoteric  ]diilosophy 
Avaloki,  the  "on-looker",  is  the  Higher  Self,  while  Padmapani  is  the 
Higher  Ego  or  Manas.  The  mystic  formula  "Om  mani  i)adme  hum"  is 
specially  used  to  invoke  their  joint  help.  Whil(>  popular  fancy  claims 
for  Avalokiteswara  many  incarnations  on  earth,  and  sees  in  him,  not 
very  wrongly,  the  spiritual  guide  of  every  believt'r,  the  esoteric  inter- 
pretation sees  in  him  the  Logos,  both  celestial  and  human.  Therefore. 
when  the  Yogacharya  School  has  declared  Avalokiteswara  as  Padma- 
pani "to  be  the  Dhyani  Bodhisattva  of  Amitabha  Buddha",  it  is  in- 
deed, because  the  former  is  thr  spiritual  rrfh x  in  the  world  of  form.<t  of 
the  latter,  botli  being  one — one  in  heaven,  the  other  on  earth. 

Avarasaila  Sangharama  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  School  of  the  Dwellers  on 
the  western  mountain.  A  celebrated  Vihara  (monastery)  in  Dhana- 
kstchjlka   according  to   Eitel,   "built   600  n.c,   and   deserted    .\.n.   (500 ". 

Avastan  (Sk.).    An  ancient  name  for  Arabia. 

Avasthas    (Sk.).     States,   conditions,   positions. 

Avatara  (Sk.).  Divine  incariuition.  The  descent  of  a  god  or  some 
exalted  ]^eing,  who  has  progressed  beyond  the  necessity  of  Rebirths, 
into  the  body  of  a  simple  mortal.     Krishna  was  an  avatar  of  Vi.shnu. 


42  THEaSOl'JIKVL 

The  Dalai  Lama  is  rofjartU'd  as  an  avatar  of  Avalokiti-swara,  and  tlie 
Teschu  Lama  as  one  of  Tson-kha-pa,  or  Amitabha.  There  are  two  kinds 
of  avatars;  tliosc  lioni  from  woman,  and  the  parentless,  the  anupapadaka. 

Avebury  or  Abury.  In  Wiltshire  are  the  remains  of  an  ancient 
metralitiiie  Serpent  temple:  according  to  the  eminent  antiquarian 
Stukeley,  1740,  there  are  traces  of  two  circles  of  stones  and  two  avenues; 
the  whole  has  formed  the  representation  of  a  serpent,  [w.w.w.] 

Avesta  (Zi)i(I).  Lit.,  "tlie  Law".  From  tlie  old  Persian  Ahasl/i, 
"the  law".  The  sacred  Scriptures  of  the  Zoroastrians.  Zoid  mi'ans  in 
the  "Zend-Avesta" — a  "commentary"  or  "interpretation".  It  is  an 
error  to  regard  "Zend"  as  a  language,  as  "it  was  applied  only  to  ex- 
planatory texts,  to  the  translations  of  the  Avesta"  (l)arrasteter). 

Avicenna.  Tlie  latinized  name  of  Abu-Ali  al  Iloseen  ben  Abdallah 
Ibu  Sina ;  a  Persian  philosopher,  born  980  a.d.,  though  generally  referred 
to  as  an  Arabian  doctor.  On  account  of  his  surprising  learning  he  was 
called  "the  Famous",  and  was  the  author  of  the  best  and  the  first  alchem- 
ical works  known  in  P^urope.  All  the  Spirits  of  the  Elements  were  sub- 
ject to  him,  so  says  the  legend,  and  it  further  tells  us  that  owing  to  his 
knowledge  of  the  Elixir  of  Life,  he  still  lives,  as  an  adept  who  will  dis- 
close himself  to  the  profane  at  the  end  of  a  certain  cycle. 

Avidya  (Sk.).  Opposed  to  Vidyd,  Knowledge.  Ignorance  which 
proceeds  from,  and  is  produced  by  the  illusion  of  the  Senses  or  Vipar- 
ijaya. 

Avikara  (Sk.).     Free  from  degeneration;  cliangeless — used  of  deity. 

Avitchi  (Sk.).  A  state:  not  necessarily  after  death  only  or  be- 
tween two  births,  for  it  can  take  place  on  earth  as  well.  Lit.,  "unin- 
terrupted hell".  The  last  of  the  eight  hells,  we  are  told,  "where  the 
culprits  die  and  are  rchorn  without  interruption — yet  not  without  hope 
of  final  redemption".  This  is  because  Avitchi  is  another  name  for  My- 
alba  (our  earth)  and  also  a  state  to  which  some  soulless  men  are  con- 
demned on  this  physical  plane. 

Avyakta  (Sk.).  The  unrevealed  cause;  indiscrete  or  undifferen- 
tiated ;  the  opposite  of  Vyakta,  the  differentiated.  Tlie  former  is  used 
of  the  unmanifested,  and  the  latter  of  the  manifested  Deity,  or  of  Brali- 
ma  and  Brahma. 

Axieros  (dr.).     One  of  tlie  Kabiri. 

Axiocersa    (Or.).      "       " 

Axiocersus  (Gr.).    ".      ". 

Ayana  (Sk.).  A  period  of  time;  two  Ayanas  complete  a  year,  one 
bring  the  period  of  the  Sun's  progress  northward,  and  the  other  south- 
ward in  the  ecliptic. 

Ayin  (Ilch.).  Lit.,  "Nothing",  whence  the  name  of  Ain-So])li.  (See 
"Ain"). 

Aymar,  Jacques.    A  famous  Frenchman  who  had  great  success  in  the 


GLOSSARY  43 

use  of  the  Divining  Rod  al)Out  the  end  of  the  17th  century  ;  he  was  often 
employed  in  detecting  criminals;  two  M.D.'s  of  the  University  of  Paris, 
Chauvin  and  Garnier  reported  on  the  reality  of  his  powers.  See  Col- 
quhoun  on  Magic  [w.w.w.] 

Ayur  Veda  (Sk.).    Lit.,  "the  Veda  of  Life". 

Ayuta  (Sk.).     100  Koti.  or  a  sum  equal  to  1.000.000.000. 

Azareksh  (Zend).  A  place  celebrated  for  a  tire-tcmph-  of  tin- 
Zoroastrians  and  Magi  during  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

Azazel  (Hch.).  "God  of  Victory";  the  scape-goat  for  the  sins  of 
Israel.  He  who  comprehends  the  mystery  of  Azazel,  says  Aben-Ezra, 
"will  learn  the  mystery  of  God's  name",  and  truly.  See  "Typhon"  and 
the  scape-goat  made  sacred  to  him  in  ancient  Egypt. 

Azhi-Dahaka  (Zend).  One  of  the  Serpents  or  Dragons  in  the  legends 
of  Iran  and  the  Avesta  Scriptures  the  allegorical  destroying  Serpent  or 
Satan. 

Aziluth  (Hcb.).  The  name  for  the  world  of  the  Sephiroth,  called 
the  world  of  Emanations  Olam  Aziluth.  It  is  the  great  and  the  highest 
prototype  of  the  other  worlds.  "' Atzcclooth  is  the  Great  Sacred  Seal  by 
means  of  which  all  the  worlds  are  copied  which  have  impressed  on  them- 
selves the  image  on  the  Seal ;  and  as  this  Great  Seal  comprehends  three 
stages,  which  are  three  zures  (prototypes)  of  Nephesh  (the  Vital  Spirit 
or  Soul),  Ruach  (the  moral  and  reasoning  Spirit),  and  the  Ncshamah 
(the  Highest  Soul  of  man),  so  the  Sealed  have  also  received  three  zureSy 
namely  Breeah,  Yetzeerah,  and  Aseeyah,  and  these  three  zures  are  only 
one  in  the  Seal"  (Myer's  Qahhahih).  The  globes  A,  Z,  of  our  terrestrial 
chain  are  in  Aziluth.     (See  Secret  Doctrine). 

Azoth  (Alch.).  Tlie  creative  principle  in  Natuure.  the  gros,ser  por- 
tion of  which  is  stored  in  the  Astral  Light.  It  is  symbolized  by  a  figure 
which  is  a  cross  (See  "Eliphas  Levi"),  the  four  limbs  of  which  bear 
each  one  letter  of  the  word  Taro,  which  can  be  read  also  Rota.  Ator,  and 
in  many  other  combinations,  each  of  which  has  an  occult  meaning. 

A.  and  n.  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  First  and  the  Last,  the  beginning 
and  ending  of  all  active  existence;  the  Logos,  hence  (with  the  Christians) 
Christ.  See  Rev.  xxi,  6.,  where  John  adopts  "Alpha  and  Omega"  as  the 
symbol  of  a  Divine  Comforter  who  "'will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst  of 
the  fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely".  The  word  Azot  or  Azoth  is  a 
media!val  glyph  of  this  idea,  for  the  word  consists  of  the  first  and  last 
letters  of  the  Greek  alphabet,  A  and  Q.  of  the  Latin  alphabet,  A  and  Z. 
and  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  A  and  T,  or  alcph  and  tan.  (See  also 
''Azoth").  [w.w.w.] 


44  TUKOSOPIIICAL 


B. 


B 


The  st'coiul  IcttiT  ill  almost  all  the  alphabets,  also  the  second  in 
tilt'  llt'bri'W.  Its  symbol  is  a  house,  the  form  of  Btth,  the  letter  itself 
indicating:  a  dwellinpr,  a  shed  or  a  shelter.  "As  a  comi)ound  of  a  root,  it 
is  constantly  used  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that  it  had  to  do  with 
stone ;  when  stones  at  Beth-el  are  set  up,  for  instance.  The  Hebrew 
value  as  a  numeral  is  two.  Joined  witli  its  predeet'ssor.  it  forms  the  word 
Ah,  the  root  of  'father'.  Master,  one  in  autliority,  and  it  has  tlie  Ka])a- 
listical  distinction  of  being:  tiie  first  letter  in  the  Sacred  Volume  of  the 
Law.  The  divine  name  connected  with  this  letter  is  Bnkhonr."  {R.  M. 
Cyclop.). 

Baal  (Chtiid.).  Baal  or  Adoii  (Adoiiai)  was  a  phallic  jrod.  "Wlio 
shall  ascend  unto  the  hill  (the  high  place)  of  the  Lord;  who  shall  stand 
in  the  place  of  his  Kadushii  {q.v.)f"  {Psalms  xxiv.  3.)  The  "circle- 
dance"  performed  by  King  David  round  the  ark,  was  the  dance  pre- 
scribed by  the  Amazons  in  the  Mysteries,  the  dance  of  the  daughters  of 
Shiloh  {Judges  xxi.,  et  seq.)  and  the  same  as  tlie  leaping  of  the  prophets 
of  Baal  (I.  Kings  xviii).  He  was  named  Bcud-Tzi  phon,  or  god  of  the 
crypt  (Exodus)  and  Scih,  or  the  pillar  {phallus),  because  he  was  the 
same  as  Amnion  (or  Baal-llammou)  of  Egypt,  called  "the  hidden  god". 
Typhon,  called  Set,  w^io  was  a  great  god  in  Egypt  during  the  early  dy- 
nasties, is  an  aspect  of  Baal  and  Ammon  as  also  of  Siva,  Jehovah  and 
other  gods.    Baal  is  the  all-devouring  Sun,  in  one  sense,  the  fiery  Moloch. 

Babil  Mound  fChald.  II,  h.).  Tlie  site  of  the  Temple  of  Bel  at 
Iljihyloii. 

Bacchus  (dr. I.  hLxoterically  and  sui)erfieially  the  god  of  wine  and 
the  vintage,  and  of  licentiousness  and  joy;  but  the  esoteric  meaning  of 
this  personification  is  more  abstruse  and  i)liilosoi)liical.  He  is  the  Osiris 
of  Egypt,  and  his  life  and  significance  belong  to  the  same  group  as  the 
other  solar  deities,  all  "sin-bearing,"  killed  and  resurrected;  e.g.,  as 
Dionysos  or  Atys  of  Phrygia  (Adonis,  or  the  Syrian  Tammuz),  as  Auso- 
nius,  Baldur  {q.v.),  etc.,  etc.  All  these  were  put  to  death,  mourned  for, 
and  restored  to  life.  The  rejoicings  for  Atys  took  i)lace  at  the  Ililaria 
on  the  "pagan"  Easter,  i\Iarcli  15th.  Ausonius,  a  form  of  Bacchus,  was 
slain  "at  the  vernal  equinox,  March  21st,  and  rose  in  three  days".  Tam- 
muz, the  double  of  Adonis  and  Atys,  was  mourned  by  the  women  at 
the  "grove"  of  his  name  "over  Bethlehem,  where  tiie  infant  Jesus 
cried",  says  St.  Jerome.  Bacchus  is  murdered  and  his  mother  collects 
the  fragments  of  his  lacerated  body  as  Isis  does  those  of  Osiris,  and  so  on. 


GLOSSARY  45 

Dionysos  lacchus,  torn  to  shreds  by  the  Titans.  Osiris,  Krishna,  all  de- 
scended into  Hades  and  returned  again.  Astronomically,  they  all  repre- 
sent the  Sun ;  psychically  they  are  all  emblems  of  the  ever-resurrecting 
"Soul"  (the  Ego  in  its  re-incarnation)  ;  spiritually,  all  the  innocent 
scape-goats,  atoning  for  the  sins  of  mortals,  tlieir  own  earthly  envelopes, 
and  in  truth,  the  poeticized  image  of  divine  man,  the  form  of  clay  in- 
formed by  its  God. 

Bacon,  Roger.  A  Franciscan  monk,  famous  as  an  adept  in  Alcliemy 
and  Magic  Arts.  Lived  in  the  thirteenth  century  in  England.  He  be- 
lieved in  the  philosopher's  stone  in  the  way  all  the  adepts  of  Occultism 
believe  in  it ;  and  also  in  philosophical  astrology.  He  is  accused  of  having 
made  a  head  of  bronze  which  having  an  acoustic  apparatus  hidden  in  it, 
seemed  to  utter  oracles  which  were  words  spoken  by  Bacon  himself  in 
another  room.  He  was  a  wonderful  physicist  and  chemist,  and  credited 
with  having  invented  gunpowder,  tliough  he  said  he  had  the  .secret  from 
"Asian  (Chinese)  wise  men". 

Baddha  (Sk.).  Bound,  conditioned;  as  is  every  mortal  who  has  not 
made  himself  free  through  Nirvana. 

Bagavadam  (Sk.).  A  Tamil  Scripture  on  Astronomy  and  otlier 
matters. 

Bagh-bog  (Slavon.).  "God";  a  Slavonian  name  for  the  Greek 
Bacchus,  whose  name  became  the  prototype  of  the  name  God  or  Bagh 
and  hog  or  hogh  ;  tlie  Russian  for  God. 

Bahak-Zivo  (Gn.).  The  "father  of  tiie  Genii ""  in  the  Codex  Naza- 
r(EHs.     The  Nazarenes  were  an  early  semi-Christian  .sect. 

Bal  (Heb.).  Commonly  translated  "Lord",  but  also  Bel,  the  Chal- 
dean god,  and  Baal,  an  "idol". 

Bala  (Sk.),  or  Panchahalani.  The  "five  powers"  to  be  acquired  in 
Yoga  practice  ;  full  trust  or  faith  ;  energy  ;  memory  ;  meditation  ;  wisdom. 

Baldur  (Scand.).  The  "Giver  of  all  Good".  The  bright  God  who 
is  "the  best  and  all  mankind  are  loud  in  his  praise  ;  so  fair  and  dazzling  is 
he  in  form  and  features,  that  rays  of  light  seem  to  issue  from  him". 
(Edda).  Such  was  the  birth-song  chanted  to  Baldur  who  resurrects  as 
Wall,  the  spring  Sun.  Baldur  is  called  the  "well-beloved",  the  "Holy 
one",  "who  alone  is  without  .sin".  He  is  the  "God  of  Goodness",  who 
"shall  be  born  again,  when  a  new  and  purer  world  will  have  ari.seu  from 
the  ashes  of  the  old,  sin-laden  world  (Asgard)".  He  is  killed  by  the 
crafty  Loki,  because  Frigga,  the  mother  of  the  gods,  "while  entreating 
all  creatures  and  all  lifeless  tilings  to  swear  that  tiiey  will  not  injure  the 
well-beloved",  forgets  to  mention  "the  weak  mistletoe  bough",  just  as 
the  mother  of  Achilles  forgot  her  .son's  heel.  A  dart  is  made  of  it  by 
Loki  and  he  places  it  in  the  iiands  of  blind  Ilodur  who  kills  with  it  the 
sunny-hearted  god  of  light.  The  Christmas  mi.sletoe  is  probably  a  rem- 
iniscence of  the  mistletoe  that  killed  the  Northern  God  of  Goodness. 

Bal-ilu  (Chald.).    One  of  the  many  titles  of  the  Sun. 


46  T1IK(^S()I'JII(  Ah 

Bamboo  Books.  Most  ancitiit  iind  certainly  piv-historic  works  in 
Cliinesc  containint;  tlie  antediluvian  records  of  the  Annals  of  China. 
They  were  found  in  the  tond)  of  Kinp:  Seang  of  Wai,  who  died  295  B.C., 
and  claim  to  j^o  hack  many  centuries. 

Bandha  (Sk.).  liouda^'r  :  life  on  this  earth;  from  the  same  root  as 
Bdildha. 

Baphomet  (dr.).  The  andro^ryne  j^oat  of  the  Mendes.  (See  Secret 
Doctrini ,  I.  'jr)3).  According'  to  the  Western,  and  especially  the  French 
Kahalists,  the  Templars  were  accu.sed  of  worshippinf?  Baj)homet,  and 
Jacques  de  Molay,  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Templars,  with  all  his 
brother-Masons,  suffered  death  in  consequence.  But  esoterically,  and 
l)hilologically,  the  word  never  meant  "goat",  nor  even  anything  so  ob- 
jective as  an  idol.  The  term  means  according  to  Von  Hammer,  "bap- 
tism" or  initiation  into  M'isdom,  from  the  Greek  words  I'^dcpri  and  >:t<sW, 
and  from  the  relation  of  Baphometus  to  Pan.  Von  Hammer  must  be 
right.  It  was  a  Ilermetico-Kabalistic  symbol,  but  tlie  whole  story  as  in- 
vented by  the  Clergy  was  false.  (See  "Pan"). 

Baptism  (Or.).  The  rite  of  purification  performed  during  the  cere- 
mony of  initiation  in  the  sacred  tanks  of  India,  and  also  the  later  identi- 
cal rite  established  by  John  "the  Baptist"  and  practised  by  his  disciples 
and  followers,  wiio  were  not  Christians.  This  rite  was  hoary  with  age 
when  it  was  adopted  by  the  Chrcstians  of  the  earliest  centuries.  Baptism 
belonged  to  the  earliest  Chaldeo-Akkadian  theurgy ;  was  religiously 
practised  in  the  nocturnal  ceremonies  in  the  Pyramids  where  we  see  to 
this  day  tlie  font  in  tlie  shape  of  the  sarcophagus;  was  known  to  take 
place  during  the  Eleusinian  mysteries  in  the  sacred  temple  lakes,  and  is 
practised  even  now  by  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Sabians.  The 
Mendasans  (the  El  Mogtasila  of  the  Arabs)  are,  notwithstanding  their 
deceptive  name  of  "St.  John  Christians",  less  Christians  than  are  the 
orthodox  Mussulman  Arabs  around  them.  They  are  pure  Sabians;  and 
this  is  very  naturally  explained  when  one  remembers  that  the  great 
Semitic  scholar  Renan  has  shown  in  his  Vie  de  Jesus  that  the  Aramean 
verb  scba,  the  origin  of  the  name  Sabian,  is  a  synonym  of  the  Greek 
fSanri^o).  The  modern  Sabians,  the  Mendaeans,  whose  vigils  and  relig- 
ious rites,  face  to. face  with  the  silent  stars,  have  been  described  by  sev- 
eral travellers,  have  still  preserved  the  theurgic,  baptismal  rites  of  their 
distant  and  nigh-forgotton  forefathers,  the  Chaldean  Initiates.  Their 
religion  is  one  of  multiplied  baptisms,  of  seven  purifications  in  the  name 
of  the  seven  planetary  rulers,  the  "seven  Angels  of  the  Presence"  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  Protestant  Baptists  are  but  the  pale  imi- 
tators of  the  El  Mogtasila  or  Nazareans  who  practise  their  Gnostic  rites 
in  the  deserts  of  Asia  Minor.     (See  "Boodhasp".) 

Bardesanes  or  Bardaisan.  A  Syrian  Gnostic,  erroneously  regarded 
as  a  Christian  theologian,  born  at  Edessa  (Edfssene  Chronicle) 
•■"  155  of  our  era  (Assemani  Bihl.  Orient,  i.  389).    He  was  a  great  as- 

loger  following  the  Eastern  Occult  System.    Accordinj^  to  Porphyry 


GLOSSARY  47 

(who  calls  him  the  Babylonian,  probably  on  account  of  his  Chaldtiism 
or  astrology),  "Bardesanes     .     .     .     held  intercourse  with  the  Indians 
that  had  been  sent  to  the  Caesar  with  Dainadamis  at  their  head"  (Dc  Abst. 
iv.  17),  and  had  his  information  from  the  Indian  gymnosophists.     The 
fact  is  that  most  of  his  teachings,  however  much  they  may  have  been 
altered  by  his  numerous  Gnostic  followers,  can  be /traced  to  Indian  phil- 
osophy, and  still  more  to  the  Occult  teachings  of  the  Secret  System.  Thus 
in  his  Hymns  he  speaks  of  the  creative  Deity  as  "Father-Mother",  and 
elsewhere  of/"Astral  Destiny"  {Karma)  of  "Minds  of  Fire"  (the  Agni- 
Dcvas)  etc.  He  connected  the  Soul  (the  personal  Manas)  with  the  Seven 
Stars,  deriving  its  origin  from  the  Higher  Beings  (the  divine  Ego)  ;  and 
therefore  "admitted  spiritual  resurrection  but  denied  the  resurrection 
of  the  body",  as  charged  with  by  the  Church  Fathers.     P]phraim  shows 
him  preaching  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  the  importance  of  tiie  birth-hours 
and  "proclaiming  the  seven".   Calling  the  Sun  the  "Father  of  Life"  and 
the  Moon  the  "Mother  of  Life",  he  shows  the  latter  "laying  aside  her 
garment  of  light  (principles)   for  the  renewal  of  the  Earth".    Photius 
cannot  understand  how,  while  accepting  "the  Soul  free  from  the  power 
of  genesis  (destiny  of  birth)  "  and  possessing  free  will,  he  still  placed  the 
body  under  the  rule  of  birth  (genesis).     For  "they  (the  Hardesanists) 
say,  that  wealth  and  poverty  and  sickness  and  health  and  death  and  all 
things  not  within  our  control  are  works i of  destiny"  {Bibl.  Cod.  223,  p. 
221 — f).    This  is  Karma,  most  evidt-ntly,  which  does  not  preclude  at  all 
free-will.    Hippolytus  makes  him  a  representative  of  the  Eastern  School. 
Speaking  of  Baptism,  Bardesanes  is  made  to  say  {loe.  cit.  pp.  985 — ff.), 
"It  is  not  however  the  Bath  alone  which  makes  us  free,  but  the  Knowl- 
edge of  who  we  are,  what  we  are  become,  where  we  were  before,  whither 
we  are  hastening,  whence  we  are  redeemed,  what  is  generation  (birth), 
what  is  re-generation  (re-birth)  ".    This  points  plainly  to  the  doctrine  of 
re-incarnation.    His  conversation  (Dialogue)  with  Awida  and  Barjamina 
on  Destiny  and  Free  Will  shows  it.    "What  is  called  Destiny,  is  an  order 
of  outflow  given  to  the  Rulers  (Gods)  and  the  Elements,  according  to 
which  order  the  Intelligences  (Spirit-Egos)  are  changed  by  their  descent 
into  the  Soul,  and  the  Soul  by  its  descent  into  the  body".     (See  Treatise, 
found  in  its  Syriac  original,  and  published  with  P^nglish  tran.slation  in 
1855  by  Dr.  Cureton.  Spicileg.  Syriac.  in  British  ^Museum.) 

Bardesanian  rSystemj.  The  "Codex  of  the  Nazarenes",  a 
system  worked  out  by  one  Bardesanes.  It  is  called  by  some  a  Kabala 
within  the  Kabala  ;  a  religion  or  sect  the  esotericism  of  which  is  given  out 
in  names  and  allegories  entirely  sui-gcneris.  A  very  old  Gnostic  system. 
This  codex  has  been  translated  into  Latin.  Whether  it  is  right  to  call 
the  Sahcanism  of  the  Mendaites  (miscalled  St.  John's  Christians),  con- 
tained in  the  Nazarene  Codex,  "the  Bardesanian  system",  as  some  do,  is 
doubtful ;  for  the  doctrines  of  the  Codex  and  the  names  of  the  Good  and 
Evil  Powers  therein,  are  older  than  Bardaisau.  Yet  the  names  are  iden- 
tical in  the  two  systems. 


48  THEOSorill*  AL 

Baresma  (/.(ud).  A  [ilant  usi'd  hy  Molu'ds  (Parsi  priests*  in  the 
tir.-t.iri|ilrs,  wluTfin  c'oiisct'ratfd   hundlrs  of  it   an-  kept. 

Barhishad  iSk.).  A  class  of  tlic  "lunar"  Pitris  or  "Ancestors", 
Fathers,  who  arc  l)clic\TTl  in  popular  superstition  to  have  kept  up  in 
their  past  incarnations  th?^  household  sacred  llaine  and  made  lire-otTer- 
intrs.  Ksoterically  the  Pitris  who  evolved  their  shadows  or  rhknyas  to 
make  therewith  the  first  man.     (See  Stcn  I   Doitriiu,  Vol.   II.) 

Basileus  ((ir.).  The  Archon  or  Chief  who  hail  the  outer  super- 
vision durinjr  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries.  "While  the  latter  was  hn  initiated 
layman,  and  mat^istrate  at  Athens,  the  Basih  us  of  the  itni)  r  Temple  was 
of  the  staff  of  the  preat  HiiTophant,  and  as  such  was  one  of  the  chief 
Miistrr  and  belonjred  to  the  inner  mysteries. 

Basilidean  ^  System  i.  Xanud  after  Ba.silidcs;  the  Founder  of 
one  of  the  most  philosophical  gnostic  .sects.  Clement  the  Alexandrian 
speaks  of  Basilides.  the  Gnostic,  as  "a  pliilosopher  devoted  to  the  contem- 
plation of  divine  things".  While  he  claimed  that  he  had  all  his  doc- 
trines from  the  Ajiostle  Matthew  and  from  Peter  through  Glaucus, 
Irena'us  reviled  him.  Tertullian  stormed  at  him,  and  the  Church  Fathers 
had  not  suflicicnt  words  of  ohloipiy  against  the  "heretic".  And  yet 
on  the  authority  of  St.  Jerome  iiimself,  who  dt'scrihes  with  indignation 
what  he  had  found  in  thr  unhj  (jnxuinc  Ilrhn  w  copi/  of  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew  (See  Isis  I'nv.,  ii.,  181)  which  he  got  from  the  Nazarenes,  the 
statement  of  Basilides  becomes  more  than  credible,  and  if  accepted 
would  solv»'  a  great  and  perplexing  problem.  His  24  vols,  of  Inirrprc- 
tatioti  of  the  Goaprh,  wer(\  as  Eusebius  tells  us,  l)urnt.  I^seless  to  say 
that  these  gospels,  were  not  oui"  pr(  s(  )it  Gospels.  Thus,  ti-utli  was  ever 
eruslied. 

Bassantin,  James.  A  Scotch  astrologer.  lie  lived  in  the  16tli 
century  and  is  said  to  have  predicted  to  Sir  Robert  Melville,  in  \^)G2  the 
death  and  all  the  events  connected  therewith  of  Mary,  the  unfortunate 
Queen  of  Scots. 

Bath  (U'h.).     Daughter. 

Bath  Kol  (Il'hj.  Daughter  of  the  Voice:  the  Divine  atllatus.  or  in- 
spiration, by  which  the  prophets  of  Israel  were  inspired  as  by  a  voice 
from  Heaven  and  the  ^lercy-Seat.  In  Latin  Filia  Vocis.  An  analogous 
ideal  is  found  in  Hindu  exoteric  theology  named  Vach,  the  voice,  the 
female  es.sence,  an  aspect  of  Aditi,  the  mother  of  the  gods  and  primaeval 
Light ;  a  mystery,  [w.w.w.] 

Batoo  (Eg.).  The  first  in  Egyptian  folk-lore.  Noum,  the 
heavenly  artist,  creates  a  beautiful  girl — the  original  of  the  Grecian 
Pandora — and  sends  her  to  Batoo.  after  which  th(>  happiness  of  the  first 
man  is  destroyed. 

Batria  (Eg.).  According  to  tradition  the  wife  of  the  Pharaoh  and 
the  teacher  of  Mo.ses. 


GLOSSARY  49 

Beel-Zebub  (Iltb.).  Tho  disfifriiri'd  Baal  of  tin-  Teinpli-s.  ami 
iiiori'  cdi Dctly  Bt'fl-Zfbul.  Bet4-Zt'bub  means  literally  "god  of  flies"; 
the  derisory  epithet  used  by  the  Jews,  and  the  incorrect  and  confused 
rendering  of  tiie  "god  of  the  sacred  scarabapi",  the  divinities  watching 
the  mummies,  and  symbols  of  transformation,  regeneration  and  immor- 
tality. Beel-Zeboul  means  proi)erly  the  "God  of  the  Dwelling"  and  is 
si)oken  of  in  this  sense  in  Matihav  x.  2.').  As  Apollo,  originally  not  a 
(Jreek  but  a  Phenician  god,  was  the  healing  god.  I'aiait,  or  ])hysi('ian,  as 
well  a-s  tile  god  of  oracles,  he  became  gradually  transformed  as  such  into 
the  "Lord  of  Dwelling",  a  liousehold  deity,  and  thus  was  calh'd  Beel- 
Zeboul.  He  was  also,  in  a  sense,  a  psychopompic  god.  taking  care  of  the 
souls  as  did  Anubis.  Beelzebub  was  always  the  oracle  god,  and  was  only 
confused  and  identified  with  Apollo  later  on. 

Bel  (Chahl.).  The  oldest  and  mightest  god  of  Babylonia,  one  of 
the  earliest  trinities, — Anu  iq.v.)  ;  Bel,  "Lord  of  the  World",  father  of 
the  gods.  Creator,  and  "Lord  of  the  City  of  Nipur";  and  Ilea,  maker 
of  fate,  Lord  of  the  Deep,  God  of  Wisdom  and  esoteric  Knowledge,  and 
"Lord  of  the  city  of  Eridu".  The  wife  of  Bel,  or  his  female  aspect 
(Sakti),  was  Belat,  or  Beltis,  "the  mother  of  the  great  gods",  and  the 
"Lady  of  tiie  city  of  Nipur".  The  original  Bel  was  also  called  Enu, 
Elu  and  Kaptu  (see  Chahhaii  account  uf  (tciusis,  by  G.  Smith).  Ilis 
eldest  son  was  the  Moon  God  Sin  (whose  names  were  also  Ur,  Agu  and 
Itu),  who  was  the  presiding  deity  of  the  city  of  Ur,  called  in  his  honour 
by  one  of  his  names.  Now  Ur  was  the  place  of  nativity  of  Abrara  (see 
"Astrology").  In  the  early  Babylonian  religion  the  Moon  was.  like 
Soma  in  India,  a  male,  and  the  Sun  a  female  deity.  And  this  led  almost 
every  nation  to  great  fratricidal  wars  between  the  lunar  and  the  solar 
worshippers — e.g.,  the  contests  between  the  Lunar  and  the  Solar  Dynas- 
ties, the  Chandra  and  Suryavansa  in  ancient  Aryavarta.  Thus  we  find 
the  .same  on  a  smaller  scale  between  the  Semitic  tribes.  Abram  and  his 
father  Teraii  are  shown  migrating  from  LTr  and  carrying  their  lunar  god 
(or  its  scion)  with  them;  for  Jehovah  Elohim  or  El — another  form  of 
Elu — has  ever  been  connected  with  the  moon.  It  is  the  Jewish  lunar 
chronology  which  has  led  the  European  "civilizt-d"  nations  into  the 
greatest  blunders  and  mistakes.  Merodach.  the  son  of  Ilea,  became  the 
later  Bel  and  was  worshipped  at  Babylon.  Ilis  other  title,  Belas,  has  a 
number  of  synil)()lic  meanings. 

Bela-Shemesh  (diaUJ.  Ifib.).  Tlu-  Lord  of  the  Sun",  the  name 
of  the  Moon  during  that  period  when  the  Jews  became  in  turn  .solar  and 
lunar  worshij)j)ers,  and  when  the  Moon  was  a  male,  and  the  Sun  a  fe- 
male deity.  This  period  embraced  the  time  between  the  allegorical  ex- 
pulsion of  Adam  and  Eve  from  Eden  down  to  the  no  less  allegorical 
Noachian  flood.     (See  Secret  Doctrine,  1.  397.) 

Bembo,  TahUt  of;  or  M<nsa  Isiaca.  A  brazen  tablet  inlaid  with 
designs  in  Mosaic  (now  in  the  Museum  at  Turin)  which  once  belonged 
to  the  famous  Cardinal  Bembo.     Its  origin  and  date  are  unknown.     It 


50  TnEOSOPiirrAL 

is  coviTod  with  Efryptian  fifjuns  and  liirrofrlypliics,  and  is  supposed  to 
have  iK'i'n  an  ornanu'nt  in  an  ancient  Tcinplc  of  Isis.  The  learned  Jesuit 
Kirelier  wrote  a  description  of  it,  and  Montfaiieon  has  a  ehai)ter  devoted 
to  it.     [w.w.w.] 

The  only  Knjjlish  work  on  the  Isiac  Tablet  is  hy  Dr.  W.  Wymi  West- 
cott.  who  };ives  a  photofjravyiri-  in  addition  to  its  history,  description, 
and  occult  sifjnifieance. 

Ben  ( ll'I'.i.  A  son;  a  eniiinion  jn-ctix  in  prnpir  names  to  denote  the 
son  of  so-and-so.  e.g.,  Ben  Solomon,  Ben  Ishmael,  etc. 

Be-ness.  A  term  coin«'il  hy  Theoso|)hsts  to  render  more  accurately 
the  efwential  nieaninp  of  the  untranslatable  word  Sat.  The  latter  word 
doe.s  not  mean  "Bein<:",  for  it  presupposes  a  sentient  feeling  or  some 
cons<'iousiu'ss  of  existence.  But.  as  the  term  Sat  is  applied  solely  to  the 
absolute  Principle,  the  universal,  unknown,  and  ever  unknowable  Pres- 
ence, which  philosophical  Pantheism  postulates  in  Kosmos,  calling  it 
the  basic  root  of  Kosmos,  and  Kosmos  itself — "Being"  was  no  fit  word 
to  express  it.  Indeed,  the  latter  is  not  even,  as  translated  by  some 
Orientalists,  "the  ineompresensible  Entity";  for  it  is  no  more  an  Entity 
than  a  non-Entity,  but  both.  It  is,  as  said,  ab.solute  Be-ncss,  not  Being, 
the  one  secondless.  undivided,  and  indivisible  All — the  root  of  all  Nature 
visible  and  invisible,  objective  and  subjective,  to  be  sen.sed  by  the  highest 
spiritual  intuition.  l)ut  never  to  be  fully  comprehended. 

Ben  Shamesh  (Il<b.).  The  children  or  the  "Sons  of  the  Sun". 
The  term  belongs  to  the  period  when  the  Jews  were  divided  into  sun  and 
moon   worshii»p»'rs — Elites  and  Belites.      (Sec  "Bela-Shemesh".) 

Benoo  (Eg.).  A  word  applied  to  two  symbols,  both  taken  to  mean 
"Pho'nix".  One  was  the  Sheu-shen  (the  heron),  and  the  other  a  non- 
descript bird,  called  the  Reeh  (the  red  one),  and  both  were  sacred  to 
Osiris.  It  was  the  latter  that  was  the  r«'frular  Pluenix  of  the  great  Mys- 
teries, the  typical  .symbol  of  self-creation  and  resurrection  through  death 
— a  type  of  the  Solar  Osiris  and  of  the  divine  Ego  in  man.  Yet  both  the 
Heron  and  the  Rech  were  symbols  of  cycles;  the  former,  of  the  Solar 
year  of  365  days;  the  latter  of  the  tropical  year  or  a  period  covering  al- 
most 20.000  years.  In  both  cjises  the  cycles  were  the  types  of  the  return 
of  li<rlit  from  darkness,  the  yearly  and  great  cyclic  return  of  the  sun-god 
to  his  birth-place,  or — his  Resurrection.  The  Keeh-Benoo  is  described 
by  Macrobius  as  living  660  years  and  then  dying;  while  others  stretched 
its  life  as  long  as  1,460  years.  Pliny,  the  Naturali.st,  describes  the  Rech 
<is  a  large  bird  with  gold  and  purple  wings,  and  a  long  blue  tail.  As 
every  reader  is  aware,  the  Pluenix  on  feeling  its  end  approaching,  ac- 
cording to  tradition,  builds  for  itself  a  funeral  pile  on  the  top  of  the 
sacrificial  altar,  and  then  proceeds  to  consume  himself  thereon  as  a  burnt- 
offering.  Then  a  worm  appears  in  the  ashes  which  grows  and  developes 
rapidly  into  a  new  Phoenix,  resurrected  from  the  ashes  of  its  predecessor. 

Berasit  (Heh.).     The  first  word  of  the  book  of  Genesis.     The  Eng- 


GLOSSARY  5X 

lish  established  version  translates  this  as  "In  the  beginning."  but  tliis 
rendering  is  disjuittd  by  many  scholars.  Tcrtullian  approved  of  "In 
power";  Grotius  "Wluu  first";  but  the  authors  of  tlie  Targum  of  Jeru- 
salem, who  ouglit  to  liave  known  IIe])rew  if  anyone  did,  translated  it 
"In  Wisdom".  Godfrey  Iliggins,  in  his  AiKuaiypsU,  insists  on  Berasit 
being  the  sign  of  the  ablative  case,  meaning  "in"  and  ros,  rasit,  an 
ancient  word  for  Chokmah,  "wisdom",     [w.w.w.] 

Berasit  or  Beraslu  th  is  a  mystic  word  among  tlie  Kabbalists  of  Asia 
Minor. 

Bergelmir  (Scand.).  The  one  giant  who  escaped  in  a  Ituai  the 
geiiei-al  slaughter  of  his  brothers,  the  giant  Ymir's  children,  drowned  in 
the  blood  of  their  raging  Father.  He  is  tbe  Scandinavain  Noah,  as  he, 
too,  becomes  tiie  father  of  giants  after  the  Deluge.  The  lays  of  tlie 
Norsemen  siiow  the  grandsons  of  the  divine  Buri — Odin.  "Wili,  and  "SVe 
— conquering  and  killing  tiie  terrible  giant  Ymir,  and  creating  the  world 
out  of  his  body. 

Berosus  (Chald.).  A  priest  of  the  Temple  of  Belus  who  wrote  for 
Alexander  the  Great  the  history  of  the  Cosmogony,  as  taught  in  the 
Temples,  from  the  astronomical  and  chronological  records  preserved  in 
tJiat  temple.  Tiie  fragments  we  have  in  the  s&i-dLtant  translations  of 
Eusebius  are  certainly  as  untrustworthy  as  the  biographer  of  the  Em- 
peror Constantine — of  whom  he  made  a  saint  (!!) — could  make  them. 
The  only  guide  to  this  Cosmogony  may  now  be  found  in  the  fragments 
of  the  Assyrian  tablets,  evidently  copied  almost  bodily  from  the  earlier 
Babylonian  records ;  which,  say  what  the  Orientalists  may,  are  undeni- 
ably the  originals  of  the  ^losaic  Genesis,  of  the  Flood,  the  tower  of  Babel, 
of  baby  Moses  set  afloat  on  tlie  waters,  and  of  other  events.  For,  if 
the  fragments  from  the  Cosmogony  of  Berosus,  so  carefully  re-edited  and 
probably  mutilated  and  added  to  i)y  Eusebius,  are  no  great  proof  of  the 
antiquity  of  tiiese  records  in  Babylonia — seeing  that  the  i>riest  of  Belus 
lived  three  hundred  years  after  the  Jews  were  carried  captive  to  Baby- 
lon, and  they  majf  have  been  borrowed  by  the  Assyrians  from  them — 
later  discoveries  have  made  such  a  consoling  hypothesis  impossible.  It  is 
now  fully  ascertained  by  Oriental  scholars  that  not  only  "Assyria  bor- 
rowed its  civilization  and  written  characters  from  Babylonia."  but  the 
Assyrians  copied  their  literature  from  Babylonian  sources.  Moreover,  in 
his  first  Ilibbert  lecture,  Professor  Sayce  shows  the  culture  both  of  Baby- 
lonia itself  and  of  the  city  of  Eridu  to  have  been  of  foreign  importation; 
and,  according  to  this  scholar,  the  city  of  Eridu  stood  already  "6.000 
years  ago  on  the  shores  of  the  Persian  gulf,"  i.e.,  about  the  very  time 
when  Gencsui  shows  the  Elohim  cn-ating  the  world,  sun.  and  stars  out 
of  nothing. 

Bes  (Eg.).  A  phallic  god.  the  god  of  concupiscence  and  pleasure. 
He  is  represented  standing  on  a  lotus  ready  to  devour  his  own  progeny 
(Abydos).    A  rather  modern  deity  of  foreign  origin. 


52  THKOSdI'JII-  Al. 

Bestla  (Siiiinl.l.  'rin-  diUl^'litiT  of  the  "Frost  triaiits".  till'  sons  of 
^'IlliI•;  inarrif(l  to  Huri,  ;m<l  the  iiiotluT  of  Odiii  and  liis  hrotlurs  (tJilda). 

Beth  ill'h.i.     lloMs*',  (Iwflliiip:. 

Beth  Elohim  llih.).  A  Kab^alistic  tj-i-atisc  ti-fatin^r  of  the  an}r»*ls. 
souls  of  lucii.  and  dfUions.     Tlu'  nauic  means  "Iloiisf  of  the  Gtids". 

Betyles  (J'Ikih.).  .Majrical  stones.  The  ancient  writers  call  them 
the  "animated  stones";  oracular  stones,  believed  in  iiiid  used  both  In 
G(>ntih>s  and  Christians.     (See  S<ct.  Dart.   II.  p.  342  i. 

Bhadra  Vihara  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "tlie  Monastery  of  the  Sajres  or  Bodhi- 
sattvas".     A  certain  Vihara  or  Matham  in  Kanyaknhdja. 

Bhadrakalpa  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "The  Kalpa  of  the  Sabres".  Our  i)resent 
|)eriod  is  a  BJuidra  Kalpa.  and  the  exoteric  teachinj;  makes  it  last 
236  million  years.  It  is  "so  called  heeanse  1,000  Buddhas  or  sapres  ap- 
pear in  the  course  of  it".  {Sanskrit  Chiixsc  Diet.)  "Four  Buddhas 
have  already  appeared"  it  adds;  hut  as  out  of  the  2:{()  millions,  over  151 
million  years  have  already  elapsed,  it  does  seem  a  rather  uneven  distri- 
bution of  Buddhas.  This  is  the  way  exoteric  or  popular  relijrions  eon- 
fuse  everythinp:.  Esoteric  philosopliy  teaches  us  that  every  Root-race 
has  its  chief  Buddha  or  Reformer,  who  appears  also  in  the  seven  sub- 
races  as  a  Bodhisattva  (7.?'.).  Gautama  Sakyamuni  was  the  fourth, 
and  also  the  fifth  Buddha:  the  fifth,  because  we  are  the  fifth  root-race; 
the  fourth,  as  the  chief  Buddha  in  this  fourth  Round.  The  lihadra 
Kalpa,  or  the  "period  of  stability",  is  the  name  of  our  present  Round, 
esoterically — its  duration  applying,  of  course,  only  to  our  globe  (D),  the 
"1.000"  P)uddhas  being  thus  in  reality  limited  to  but  forty-nine  in  all. 

Bhadrasena  (Sk.).    A  Buddhist  king  of  Magadha. 

Bhagats  (Sk.).  Also  called  Sokha  and  SiviidtJi  by  tlie  Hindus;  one 
who    exoi-ejses    evil    sjlirits. 

Bhagavad-gita  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  Loi-d's  Song".  A  portion  of 
the  .Mahohharata,  the  great  epic  |)oem  of  India.  It  contains  a  dialogue 
wherein  Khi-isiina — the  "Charioteer"— and  Arjuna,  his  Chrla,  have  a 
discussion  upon  the  highest  spiritual  i)liilosophy.  The  work  is  pre- 
eminently occult  or  esoteric. 

Bhagavat  (Sk.).  A  title  of  the  Buddha  and  of  Ki'ishna.  "The 
Lord"  literally. 

Bhao  (Sk.).  A  eei'cmony  of  divination  among  the  Kolarian  tribes 
of  Central  India. 

Bharata  Varsha  fSk.l.  The  land  of  I>liai'a1a,  an  ancient  name  of 
hxiia. 

Bhargavas  (Sk.).  An  ancient  i-aee  in  India;  from  the  name  of 
Bhrigu.  the  Rishi. 

Bhashya   (Sk.).     A   connnentary. 

Bhaskara  (Sk.).  One  of  the  titles  of  Surga,  the  Sun;  meaning 
"life-giver  "  and  "light-maker". 


GLOSSARY  53 

Bhava  (Sk.).  Bcinfr.  or  state  of  l)ciiijr;  tlic  world,  a  nirtli.  and  also 
a  name  of  Siva. 

Bhikshu  SI,-.).  In  Pali  Bikhhu.  Tin-  iianu'  jrivt-ii  to  tlie  first  fol- 
lowers of  Sakyamiini  Buddha.  Lit.,  "iiuMidicant  scholar''.  The  Sans- 
krit Chin('S<  Dictionary  explains  the  term  correctly  by  dividinj;  Bhik- 
shus  into  two  classes  of  Sramana.'i  (Buddhist  monks  and  priests),  viz., 
"esoteric  mendicants  who  control  their  nature  by  the  (reliprious)  law, 
and  exoteric  mendicants  who  control  their  nature  by  di^t;''  and  it  adds, 
less  correctly:  "every  true  Bhikshu  is  supposed  to  work  miracles". 

Bhons  (Tib.).  The  followers  of  the  old  religion  of  the  Aborifjines  of 
Tibet;  of  pre-buddhistic  temples  and  ritualism;  the  same  as  Dugpas, 
"red  caps",  thoug:h  the  latter  appellation  usually  ajiplies  only  to  sor- 
cerers. 

Bhrantidarsanatah  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "false  comprehension  or  appre- 
hension"; somethiuf;  conceived  of  on  false  appearance.->  as  a  mayavic, 
illusionary  form. 

Bhrigii  ("XA-.j.  One  of  the  pfreat  Vedic  Rishis.  lie  is  called  "Son" 
by  Mann,  who  confides  to  him  his  I)istifi(t(s.  He  is  one  of  the  Seven 
Prnjapatis,  or  progenitors  of  mankind,  which  is  eciuivalent  to  identifying 
him  with  one  of  the  creative  gods,  placed  by  the  Puranas  in  Krita  Yug, 
or  the  first  age,  that  of  purity.  Dr.  Wynn  Wescott  reminds  us  of  the 
fact  that  the  late  and  very  erudite  Dr.  Kenealy  (who  spelt  tiie  name 
Bri(jJwo),  made  of  this  Muni  (Saint)  the  fourth,  out  of  his  twelve, 
"divine  messengers"  to  the  "World,  adding  that  he  ajipeared  in  Tibet. 
A.N.  4800  and  that  his  religion  spread  to  Britain,  where  his  followers 
raised  the  megalithic  temple  of  Stonehenge.  This,  of  course,  is  a  hy- 
pothesis, based  merely  on  Dr.  Kenealy 's  personal  speculations. 

Bhumi  (Sk.).     The  earth,  called  also  PrithirJ. 

Bhur-Bhuva  (Sk.).  A  mystic  incarnation,  as  Om.  lihur.  Bhuva. 
Sivar,  meaning  "Om,  earth,  .sky,  heaven".  This  is  the  <.rot(ric  explana- 
tion. 

Bhuranyu  iSk.).  "The  rapid"'  or  tiie  swift.  Tsed  of  a  missile — 
an  ((piivalent  also  of  the  Greek  Phoroncus. 

Bhur-loka  (Sk.).  One  of  the  14  lokas  or  worlds  in  Hindu  Pan- 
theism ;  our  Earth. 

Bhutadi.  (Sk.).  Elementary  substances,  the  origin  and  the  germ- 
inal essence  of  the  elements. 

Bhutan.  A  country  of  heretical  Buddhists  and  Lamaists  beyond 
Sikkhim,  where  rules  the  Dharma  Raja,  a  nominal  vassal  of  the  Dalai 
Lama. 

Bhuhta-vidya  (Sk.).  The  art  of  exorcising,  of  treating  and  curing 
demoniac   possession.     Literally,  "Demon"  or  "Ghost-knowledge". 

Bhuta-sarga  (Sk.).  Llemental  or  incipient  Creation,  i.e.,  when 
matter  was  several  degrees  less  material  than  it  is  now. 


54  TllKiKSol'JIItAI, 

Bhutesa  (SkJ.  Or  Iihut<  sicdiii :  lil.,  "Lord  of  hciiifrs  nr  of  cx- 
istiiit  livt's".    A  name  apj)lit'(l  to  Visliim.  to  Bralmia  and  Krishna. 

Bhuts  (Sk.).  lihutd :  (Jluists,  pliaiitoins.  To  call  tlii'in  "di'mons" 
as  do  the  Orientalists,  is  ini'orreet.  For,  if  on  tlie  one  liand.  a  Hliuta 
is  "a  nialifjnant  spirit  wliieli  liaiints  cemeteries,  lurks  in  trees,  animates 
dead  bodies,  and  tieludes  and  devoiii-s  Iniman  l)einj;s".  in  popular  fancy, 
in  India  in  Tibet  and  China,  by  Hhutas  are  also  meant  "heretics"  wlio 
besmear  their  boilies  with  asiies,  or  Sluiiva  ascetics  (Siva  beiufr  held  in 
India  for  the  King  of  Bhiitas). 

Bhuva-loka  (Sk.).     One  of  the  14  worlds. 

Bhuvana  (Sk.).  A  name  of  Kiidra  oi-  Siva,  luir  of  thr  Indian 
Trii)iurti  (Trinity). 

Bifrost  (Scand.).  A  bridge  built  by  the  gods  to  i)rotect  Asgard. 
On  it  "the  third  Sword-god,  known  as  lleimdal  or  Riger",  stands  night 
and  day  girded  with  his  sword,  for  lie  is  the  watchman  selected  to  pro- 
tect Asgard,  the  abode  of  gods.  lleimdal  is  the  Scandinavian  CMierubim 
with  the  tiaming  sword,  "which  turned  every  way  to  keep  tiie  war  of  the 
tree  of  life." 

Bihar  Gyalpo  (Tib.).  A  king  deified  l)y  the  l)ugi)as.  A  patron 
over  all  tiieir  religious  buildings. 

Binah  (Hch.).  Understanding.  The  third  of  the  K)  Sephiroth.  the 
tliird  of  the  Supernal  Triad ;  a  female  potency,  corresj^onding  to  the 
letter  he  of  the  Tetragrammaton  IHVII.  Binah  is  called  Aima,  the 
Supernal  ^Mother,  and  "the  great  Sea",   [w.w.w.] 

Birs  Nimrud  (ChaUJ.).  Believed  by  the  Orientali.sts  to  be  the  site 
of  the  Tower  of  Babel.  The  great  pile  of  Birs  Nimrud  is  near  Babylon. 
Sir  II.  Rawlinson  and  several  Assyriologists  examined  the  excavated 
ruins  and  found  that  tiie  tower  consisted  of  seven  stages  of  brick-work, 
each  stage  of  a  different  colour,  which  shows  that  the  temple  was  devoted 
to  the  .seven  planets.  Even  with  its  three  higher  stages  or  floors  in 
ruins,  it  still  rises  now  154  feet  a])ove  the  level  of  the  plain.  (See 
"  Borsippa". 

Black  Dwarfs.  The  name  of  the  Elves  of  Darkness,  who  creep 
about  in  the  dark  caverns  of  the  earth  and  fabricate  weapons  and  utensils 
for  their  divine  fathers,  the  ^sir  or  A.ses.     ('ailed  also  "Black  Elves". 

Black  Fire  (Zohar.).  A  Kabbalistic  term  for  Absolute  Light  and 
Wisdmii  :  "blaek"  because  it  is  incompreiiensible  to  our  finite  intellects. 

Black  Magic  (Occult.).  Sorcery;  necromancy,  or  tlu»  raising  of 
the  dead,  and  other  .selfish  al)uses  of  abnormal  powers.  This  abuse  may 
be  unintentional ;  yet  it  is  still  "black  magic"  whenever  anything  is  pro- 
(lueed   phenomenally  simply  for  one's  own  gratification. 

B'ne  Alhim  or  Bmi  Elohim  (Ilrb.).  "Sons  of  God",  literally  or  more 
correctly  "Sons  of  the  gods",  as  Elohim  is  the  plural  of  Eloah.  A 
group  of  angelic  powers  referable  by  analogy  to  the  Sephira  Ilod. 
[w.w.w.] 


GLOSSARY  55 

Boat  of  the  Sun.  This  sacred  solar  boat  was  called  Sckii,  and  it 
was  steered  by  tlie  dead.  With  the  Egyptians  the  highest  exaltation  of 
the  Sun  was  in  Arks  and  the  depression  in  Libra.  (See  "Pharaoh",  the 
"Son  of  the  Sun".)  A  blue  light— which  is  the  "Sun's  Son"— is  seen 
streaming  from  the  bark.  The  ancient  Egyptians  taught  that  the  real 
colour  of  the  Sun  was  blue,  and  ]\Iacrobius  aho  statf^s  that  liis  colour  is  of 
a  pure  blue  before  he  reaches  the  horizon  and  after  he  disappears  below. 
It  is  curious  to  note  in  this  relation  the  fact  that  it  is  only  since  1881 
that  physicists  and  astronomers  discovered  that  "our  Sun  is  really  blue". 
Professor  Langley  devoted  many  years  to  ascertaining  the  fact.  Helped 
in  this  by  the  magnificent  scientific  apparatus  of  physical  science,  he  has 
succeeded  finally  in  proving  that  the  apparent  yellow-orange  colour  of 
the  Sun  is  due  only  to  the  effect  of  absorption  exerted  by  its  atmosphere 
of  vapours,  chiefly  metallic;  but  that  in  sober  truth  and  reality,  it  is  not 
"a  white  Sun  but  a  blue  one",  i.e.,  something  which  the  EgA'ptian  priests 
had  discovered  without  any  known  scientific  instruments,  many  thou- 
sands of  years  ago ! 

Boaz  (Ilch.).  Tiie  great-grandfather  of  David.  The  word  is  from 
B,  meaning  "in",  and  oz  "strength",  a  symbolic  name  of  one  of  the 
pillars  at  the  porch  of  King  Solomon's  temple,  [w.w.w.] 

Bodha-Bodhi  (SJx.).     Wisdom-knowledge. 

Bodhi  or  ,Sa»ihodhi  (Sk.).  Receptive  intelligence,  in  contradistinction 
to  Buddhi,  which  is  the  potentiality  of  intelligence. 

Bodhi  Druma  (Sk.).  The  Bo  or  Bodhi  tree;  the  tree  of  "knowl- 
edge", the  I'ippida  or  fims  rcligiosa  in  botany.  It  is  the  tree  under 
which  Sakyamuni  meditated  for  seven  years  and  then  reached  Buddha- 
ship.  It  was  originally  400  feet  high,  it  is  claimed ;  but  when  Hiouen- 
Tsang  saw  it,  about  the  year  640  of  our  era,  it  was  only  50  feet  high. 
Its  cuttings  have  been  carried  all  over  the  Buddhist  world  and  are 
planted  in  front  of  almost  every  Vihara  or  temple  of  fame  in  China, 
Siam,  Ceylon,  and  Tibet. 

Bodhidharma  (Sk.).  Wisdom-religion;  or  tlie  wisdom  contained 
in  Dharma  (ethics).  Also  the  name  of  a  great  Arhat  Kshatriya  (one 
of  the  warrior-caste),  the  son  of  a  king.  It  was  Panyatara,  his  guru, 
who  "gave  him  the  name  Bodhidliarma  to  mark  his  understanding 
(bodhi)  of  the  Law  (dharma)  of  Buddha".  [Chin.  San.  Diet.).  Bod- 
hidharma, who  flourished  in  tlie  sixth  century,  travelled  to  China,  where- 
to he  brought  a  precious  relic,  namely,  the  almsbowl  of  the  Lord  Buddha. 

Bodhisattva  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "lie,  whose  essence  (sattva)  has  be- 
come intelligence  (hodhi)";  those  who  need  but  one  more  incarnation 
to  become  perfect  Buddhas,  i.e.,  to  be  entitled  to  Nirvana.  This,  as 
applied  to  Ma)H(sln  (terrestrial)  Buddhas.  In  the  metaphysical  sense, 
Bodhisattva  is  a  title  given  to  the  sons  of  the  celestial  Dhyani  Buddhas. 

Bodhyanga  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  seven  branches  of  knowledge  or  un- 
derstanding.    One  of  the  37  catagories  of  the  Bodhi  pakchika  dharma, 


56  THEOSOI'IirCAL 

eoinpreluMi(liii«;  st'vcii  degrees  of  iiitclligeiu'e  (esoterically.  seven  states  of 
eonseiousness).  and  these  are  (1)  SniritI,  "memory";  (2)  Dharma 
pravitclnn/ii,  "eorreet  understanding'"  ni-  disei-iniinatioii  of  the  Law; 
(3)  Viri/d.  ••fiirrjry" ;  (4)  I'rili,  "si)iritual  joy";  ( f) )  Prasrabdhi, 
"tranquillity"  or  (juietinle  ;  (6)  Sanuhlhi,  "eestatie  eontemplation"  ;  and 
(7)   CixIxsIki  "ahsolutc  iiiditTeiTiicc ". 

Boehme  (.lacob).  A  ^reat  mystie  i)hih)sopher,  one  of  the  most 
Itroininent  Theosophists  of  the  medijvval  apes.  lie  was  born  about  loTf) 
at  OUl  Seidenl)urjr.  some  two  miles  from  Giirlitz  (Sih-sia),  and  died  in 
1624.  at  nearl\'  fifty  years  of  age.  In  his  boyhood  lie  was  a  common 
shepherd,  and.  after  learning  to  read  and  write  in  a  village  school,  b«'- 
came  an  api)rentice  to  a  i)oor  shoemaker  at  Giirlitz.  He  was  a  natural 
clairvoyant  of  most  wonderful  powers.  With  no  education  or  acquaint- 
ance with  science  he  wrote  works  which  are  now  proved  to  be  full  of 
scientific  truths;  but  then,  as  he  says  himself,  wiiat  he  wrote  upon,  he 
"saw  it  as  in  a  great  Deep  in  the  Eternal".  lie  had  "a  thorough  view 
of  the  universe,  as  in  a  chaos",  which  yet  "opened  it.self  in  him,  from 
time  to  time,  as  in  a  young  plant".  lie  was  a  thorough  born  Mystic, 
and  evidently  of  a  constitution  whicii  is  most  rare ;  one  of  those  fine 
natures  whose  material  envelope  impedes  in  no  way  the  direct,  even  if 
only  occasional,  intercommunion  between  the  intellectual  and  the  spirit- 
ual Ego.  It  is  this  Ego  which  Jacob  Boelime,  like  so  many  other  un- 
trained mystics,  mistook  for  God;  "^lan  must  acknowledge,"  he  writes, 
"that  his  knowledge  is  not  his  own,  but  from  God,  who  manifests  the 
Ideas  of  Wisdom  to  the  Soul  of  Man,  in  what  measure  he  pleases".  Had 
this  great  Theosophist  mastered  Eastern  Occultism  he  might  have  ex- 
pressed it  otherwise.  He  would  have  known  then  that  the  "god"  who 
spoke  through  his  poor  uncultured  and  untrained  brain,  was  his  own 
divine  Ego,  the  omniscient  Deity  within  himself,  and  that  what  that 
Deity  gave  out  was  not  in  "what  measure  he  pleased,"  but  in  the  meas- 
ure of  the  capacities  of  the  mortal  and  temporary  dwelling  it  informed. 

Bonati,  (luido.  A  Franciscan  monk,  born  at  Florence  in  the  Xlllth 
century  and  died  in  1306.  He  became  an  astrologer  and  alchemist,  but 
failed  as  a  Rosicrucian  adept.     He  returned  after  tliis  to  his  monastery. 

Bona-Oma,  oi-  Bo)i(i  Dm.  A  Roman  goddess,  the  patroness  of  female 
Initiates  and  Occultists.  Called  also  Fauna  after  her  father  Faunus. 
She  was  worshipped  as  a  prophetic  and  chaste  divinity,  and  her  cult 
was  confined  solely  to  women,  men  not  being  allowed  to  even  pronounce 
her  name.  She  revealed  her  oracles  only  to  women,  and  the  ceremonies  of 
her  Sanctuary  (a  grotto  in  the  Aventine)  were  conducted  by  the  Vestals, 
every  1st  of  May.  Her  aversion  to  men  was  so  great  that  no  male  person 
was  permitted  to  approach  the  house  of  the  consuls  where  her  festival  was 
sometimes  held,  and  even  the  poi-traits  and  the  busts  of  men  were  carried 
out  for  the  time  from  the  building.  Clodius,  who  once  profaned  such 
a  sacred  festival  by  entering  the  house  of  Csesar  where  it  was  held,  in  a 
female  disguise,  brought  grief  upon  himself.     Flowers  and  foliage  dec- 


GLOSSARY  57 

orated  her  temple  and  women  made  libations  from  a  vessel  (mellarium) 
full  of  milk.  It  is  not  true  that  the  mdlarium  contained  wine,  as  as- 
serted by  some  writers,  who  being  men  thus  tried  to  revenge  themselves. 

Bono,  Peter.  A  Lombardian  ;  a  great  adept  in  the  Hermetic  Science, 
who  travelled  to  Persia  to  study  Alchemy.  Returning  from  iiis  voyage 
he  settled  in  Istria  in  1330,  and  became  famous  as  a  Rosierueian.  A 
Calabrian  monk  named  Lacinius  is  credited  with  having  published  in 
1702  a  condensed  version  of  Bono's  works  on  the  transmutation  of  metals. 
There  is,  however,  more  of  La(dnius  tlian  of  Bono  in  the  work.  Bono 
was  a  genuine  adept  and  an  Initiate ;  and  such  do  not  leave  their  secrets 
behind  them  in  MSS. 

Boodhasp  (Chald.).  An  alleged  Chaldean;  but  in  esoteric  teaching  a 
Buddhist  (a  Bodhisattva),  from  the  East,  who  was  the  fo\inder  of  the 
esoteric  school  of  Neo-Sabeism,  and  whose  secret  rite  of  baptism  passed 
bodily  into  the  Christian  rite  of  the  same  name.  For  almost  three  cen- 
turies before  our  era,  Buddhist  monks  overran  the  whole  country  of 
Syria,  made  their  way  into  the  Mesopotamian  valley  and  visited  even 
Ireland.  The  name  Fcrho  and  Faho  of  the  Codex  Nazaranis  is  but  a 
corruption  of  Fho,  Fo  and  Pho,  the  name  which  the  Chinese,  Tibetans 
and  even  Ne])aulese  often  give  to  Buddha. 

Book  of  the  Dead.  An  ancient  Egyptian  ritualistic  antl  occult  work 
attributed  to  Thot-IIermes.     Found  in  the  coffins  of  ancient  mummies. 

Book  of  the  Keys.     An  ancient  Kabbalistic  work. 

Borj  (I'crs.).  The  Mundane  Mountain,  a  volcano  or  lire-mountain; 
the  same  as  the  Indian  Meru. 

Borri,  Joseph  Francis.  A  great  Hermetic  philosopher,  born  at 
Milan  in  the  17th  century.  He  was  an  adept,  an  alchemist  and  a  de- 
voted occultist.  He  knew  too  nuich  and  was,  therefore,  condemned  to 
death  for  heresy,  in  January,  1661,  after  the  death  of  Pope  Innocent  X. 
He  escaped  and  lived  many  years  after,  when  finally  he  was  recognized 
by  a  monk  in  a  Turkish  village,  denounced,  claimed  by  the  Papal  Nuncio, 
taken  back  to  Rome  and  imprisoned,  August  10th,  1675.  But  facts  show 
that  he  escaped  from  his  prison  in  a  way  no  one  could  account  for. 

Borsippa  (Chald.).  The  planet-tower,  wherein  Bel  was  worshipped 
in  the  days  when  astrol-atcrs  were  the  greatest  astronomers.  It  was  dedi- 
cated to  Nebo,  god  of  Wisdom.     (See  "Birs  Nimrud".) 

Both-al  (Irish).  The  Both-al  of  the  Irish  is  the  descendant  and 
copy  of  the  Greek  Batvlos  and  the  Beth-el  of  Canaan,  the  "house  of 
God"   (q.v.). 

Bragadini,  Marco  Antonio.  A  Venetian  RosierueiaTi  of  great 
achievements,  an  Occultist  and  Kabbalist  who  was  decapitated  in  1595 
in  Bavaria,  for  making  gold. 

Bragi  (Scaud.).  The  god  of  New  Life,  of  the  re-incarnation  of  na- 
ture and  man.  He  is  called  "the  divine  singer"  without  spot  or  blemish. 
He  is  represented  as  gliding  in  the  ship  of  the  Dwarfs  of  Death  during 


58  THEOSOI'HICAL 

the  dt-'atli  of  nature  (i)ralaya\  lyinrj  aslctp  on  tlk*  di-fk  with  liis  golden 
strin<]red  liarp  near  him  and  drcaininf;  tlie  dream  of  life.  When  the 
vessel  crosses  tiie  threshold  of  Xain.  the  Dwarf  of  Death.  Bra{;i  awakes 
and  sweepinjr  the  strings  of  his  harp.  sin<;s  a  sonpr  that  eehoes  over  all 
the  worlds,  a  song  describing  the  rapture  of  existence.  mihI  awakens  dumb, 
sleeping  nature  out  of  her  long  death-like  sleep. 

Brahma  (Sk.).  The  student  must  distingui.sh  l)etwr<ii  iiralmui  the 
luutn-,  and  Brainna.  the  nude  creator  of  tlie  Indian  Pantheon.  The 
formei'.  ]>rahma  or  Brahman,  is  tlie  impersonal,  supreme  and  uneogniz- 
able  Prineii)le  of  the  Univer.se  from  the  essence  of  which  all  emanates, 
anil  into  which  all  returns,  which  is  incorporeal,  immaterial,  unborn, 
eternal,  beginningless  and  endless.  It  is  all-pervading,  animating  the 
highest  god  as  well  as  the  smallest  mineral  atom.  Brahma,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  male  and  the  alleged  Creator,  exists  periodically  in  his  mani- 
festation only,  and  then  again  goes  into  pralaija,  i.e.,  disappears  and  is 
(nni{hil<it(  d. 

Brahma's  Day.  A  period  of  2,160,000,000  years  during  winch 
Brahma  having  emerged  out  of  his  golden  eg^  {Hiranijagar'bha) ,  creates 
and  fashions  the  material  world  (being  simply  the  fertilizing  and  cre- 
ative force  in  Nature).  After  this  period,  the  worlds  being  destroyed 
in  turn  by  fire  and  water.  h(^  vanishes  with  objective  nature,  and  then 
comis  Brahma's  Night. 

Brahma's  Night.  A  period  of  e((iuil  duration,  during  which 
Brahma  is  said  to  be  asleep.  Upon  awakening  he  recommences  the  pro- 
cess, and  this  goes  on  for  an  age  of  Brahma.  comi)oscd  of  alternate 
"Days",  and  "Nights",  and  lasting  100  years  (of  2.160,000.000  years 
each).  It  requires  fifteen  figures  to  express  the  duration  of  such  an 
age ;  after  the  expiration  of  which  the  Mahapralaya  or  the  Great  Dis- 
solution sets  in.  and  lasts  in  its  turn  for  the  same  space  of  fifteen  figures. 

Brahma  Prajapati  (Sk.).  "Brahma,  the  Progenitor",  literally 
the  "Lord  of  Creatures".  In  this  aspect  Brahma  is  the  synthesis  of  the 
PrajPipati  or  creative  Forces. 

Brahma  "Vach  (Sk.).  Male  and  female  Brahma.  Vach  is  also 
sometimes  called  the  female  logos;  for  Vach  means  Speech,  literally. 
(See  .M(i)ni,  Book  I.,  and  Vishnu  Furdna). 

Brahma  Vidya  (Sk.).  The  knowledge,  the  esoteric  .science,  about 
the  two  P>i-aliinas  and  their  true  nature. 

Brahma  Viraj.  (Sk.).  The  same:  Brahmji  separating  his  body 
into  two  halves,  male  and  female,  creates  in  them  Vach  and  Viraj.  In 
plainer  terms  and  esoteric  ally,  BrahmS,,  the  Univer.se,  differentiating, 
produced  thereby  material  nature,  Viraj,  and  spiritual  intelligent  Na- 
ture, Vach — whicli  is  the  Logos  of  Deity  or  the  manifested  expression 
of  the  eternal  divine  Ideation. 

Brahmachari  (Sk.).  A  Brahman  ascetic ;  one  vowed  to  celibacy, 
a  monk,  virtuallv,  or  a  religious  student. 


GLOSSARY  59 

Brahmajnani  (8k.).  One  possessed  of  complete  Knowledge;  an 
JUuminatus  in  esoteric  parlance. 

Brahman  (Sk.).  Tlu'  liifrhest  of  tht-  four  castes  in  India,  one  sup- 
posed or  ratlier  fancyiiif^  himself,  as  hig:h  among  men,  as  Braliman,  the 
ABSOLUTE  of  the  Vedantins,  is  high  among,  or  above  the  gods. 

Brahmana  period  (Sk.).  One  of  the  four  periods  into  which  Vedic 
litcratm-i'  lias  ])cen  divided  l)y  Orientalists. 

Brahmanas  (Sk.).  Hindu  Sacred  Books.  Works  composed  by. 
and  for  Brahmans.  Commentaries  on  these  portions  of  the  Vedas  which 
were  intended  for  the  ritualistic  use  and  guidance  of  the  "twice-born" 
(Dwija)  or  Brahmans. 

Brahmanaspati  (Sk.).  The  planet  Jupiter;  a  deity  in  the  liifj- 
Vcda,  known  in  the  exoteric  works  as  Brihaspati,  whose  wife  Tara  was 
carried  away  by  Soma  (the  Moon).  This  led  to  a  war  between  the  gods 
and  the  Asuras. 

Brahmapuri  (Sk.).    Lit.,  "the  City  of  Brahma". 

Brahmaputras  (Sk.).    Tlic  Sons  of  Brahma. 

Brahmarandhra  (Sk.).  A  spot  on  the  crown  of  the  head  connected 
h,\-  SushumiKi.  a  cord  in  the  spinal  column,  with  the  heart.  A  mystic 
term  havinjjr  its  significance  only  in  mysticism. 

Brahmarshis  (Sk.).     The  Brahminieal  Ri.-^his. 

Bread  and  Wine.  Bapti.sm  and  the  Eucharist  have  their  direct 
origin  in  pagan  Egypt.  Tliere  the  "waters  of  purification"  were  used 
(the  Mithraic  font  for  baptism  being  borrowed  by  the  Persians  from  the 
Egyptians)  and  so  were  bread  and  wine.  "Wine  in  the  Dionysiak  cult, 
as  in  the  Christian  religion,  represents  that  blood  which  in  different 
senses  is  the  life  of  the  world"  (Brown,  in  the  Dionysiak  Mi/th).  Justin 
Martyr  says,  "In  imitation  of  which  the  devil  did  the  like  in  the 
]\Iysteries  of  ]\Iitliras,  for  you  either  know  or  may  know  that  they  also 
take  bread  and  a  cup  of  water  in  the  sacrifices  of  those  that  are  initiated 
and  pronounce  certain  words  over  it".     (See  "Holy  Water".) 

Briareus  (Gr.).  A  famous  giant  in  the  Theogony  of  Hesiod.  The 
son  of  CgjIus  and  Terra,  a  monster  w^ith  50  heads  and  100  arms.  He  is 
conspicuous  in  the  wars  and  battles  between  tiie  gods. 

Briatic  World  or  Briah  (Hch.).  This  world  is  the  second  of  the 
Four  worlds  of  the  Kabbalists  and  referred  to  the  highest  created  "Arch- 
angels", or  to  Pure  Spirits,  [w.w.w.] 

Bride.  The  tenth  Sephira,  Malkuth.  is  caHed  by  the  Kabbalists  the 
Bride  of  Microprosopus ;  she  is  the  final  He  of  the  Tetragrammaton ;  in 
a  similar  manner  the  Christian  Church  is  called  the  Bride  of  Christ. 
[w.w.w.] 

Brihadaranyaka  (Sk.).  The  name  of  a  Upanishad.  One  of  the 
sacred  and  secret  books  of  the  Brahmins;  an  Aranyaka  is  a  treatise  ap- 
pended to  the  Vedas,  and  considered  a  subject  of  special  study  by  those 


60  THE08(>l'in«AI. 

who  have  rttirt'd  ti»  the  juM«,'lt'   (fon-st)   for  purposes  of  ri'lijjious  medi- 
tation. 

Brihaspati  (Sk.).  The  nam.-  of  a  Deity,  also  ttf  a  h'ishi.  it  is  lilie- 
wise  the  iiHme  of  the  planet  Jupiter.  He  is  the  per.sonilied  Guru  and 
priest  of  the  pods  in  India;  also  the  symbol  of  exoteric  ritualism  as 
opposed  to  esoteric  mysticism.  Hence  the  opponent  of  Kinp  Soma — the 
moon,  hut  also  the  sacred  juice  drunk  at  initiation  -the  parent  of  Budha. 
Siecret    Wisdom. 

Briseus  liir.).  A  name  ^iven  to  the  <rod  Hacchus  for  his  nursi*. 
Hrisd.     Ill'  had  also  a  temple  at  Brisa.  a  i)romontory  of  the  isle  of  Lesbos. 

Brothers  of  the  Shadow.  A  name  driven  by  tiie  Occultists  to 
Sorcerers,  and  especially  to  the  Tibetan  Diufpas,  of  whom  there  are  many 
in  the  Bhoii  sect  of  the  Red  Caps  {Dugpa).  The  word  is  applied  to  all 
practitioners  of  black  or  hft  hand  mapic. 

Bubaste  (E(;.).  A  city  in  Epypt  which  was  sacred  to  tlie  cats,  and 
whcr-r  was  their  princijial  shi-ine.  Many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  cats 
were  embalmed  and  buried  in  the  prottoes  of  Beni-Hassan-el-Amar.  The 
cat  beinj;  a  symbol  of  the  moon  was  .sacred  to  Isis,  her  goddess.  It  sees 
in  the  dark  and  its  eyes  have  phosphorescent  lustre  which  frightens  the 
night-birds  of  evil  omen.  The  eat  was  also  sacred  to  Ba.st.  and  thence 
called  "the  destroyer  of  the  Sun's   (Osiris')   etiemies''.; 

Buddha  (SkJ.  Lit.,  "The  Enlightened".  The  highest  degree  of 
knowledge.  To  become  a  Buddha  one  has  to  break  through  the  bondage 
of  sense  and  personality ;  to  acquire  a  complete  perception  of  the  re.\l 
SELF  and  learn  not  to  separate  it  from  all  other  selves;  to  learn  by  ex- 
perience the  utter  unreality  of  all  phenomena  of  the  visible  Kosmos 
foremost  of  all ;  to  reach  a  complete  detachment  from  all  that  is  evan- 
escent and  finite,  and  live  while  yet  on  Earth  in  the  immortal  and  the 
everlasting  alone,  in  a  .supreme  state  of  holiness. 

Buddha  Siddharta  (Sk.).  The  name  given  to  Gautama,  tiie 
rriiicr  (if  Kiipilavastu.  at  his  birth.  It  is  an  abbreviation  of  Sarvdrt- 
thasiddha  and  means,  the  "realization  of  all  desires".  Gautama,  which 
means,  "on  earth  (gau)  the  most  victorious  (tama)"  was  the  sacerdotal 
name  of  the  Sakya  family,  the  kingly  patronymic  of  the  dynasty  to 
which  the  father  of  Gautanui,  the  King  Suddhodhana  of  Kai>ilavastu, 
belonged.  Kapilavastu  was  an  ancient  city,  the  l)irth-{)lace  of  the  Great 
Reformer  and  was  destroyed  during  his  life  time.  In  the  title  Sakya- 
muni,  the  last  component,  muni,  is  rendered  as  meaning  one  "mighty  in 
charity,  isolation  and  silence",  and  the  former  Sakija  is  the  family  name. 
Every  Orientalist  or  Pundit  knows  by  heart  the  story  of  Gautama,  the 
Buddha,  the  most  perfect  of  mortal  men  that  the  world  has  ever  seen, 
but  none  of  them  seem  to  suspect  the  esoteric  meaning  underlying  his 
prenatal  biograi)hy,  i.e.,  the  significance  of  the  pojjular  story.  The  Lali- 
tavistara  tells  the  tale,  but  abstains  from  hinting  at  the  truth.  The  5,000 
Jdfakas,  or  the  events  of  former  births  (re-incarnations)  are  taken  liter- 


GLOSSARY  61 

iilly  instead  of  I'sott-rically.  (Jautania.  tlic  Butldha.  would  luit  havt*  been 
a  moi'tal  man.  had  lie  flot  passed  throujrli  hundreds  and  thousands  of 
hirths  previous  to  his  last.  Yet  the  detailed  aceount  of  these,  and  the 
statement  that  during  them  he  worked  his  way  up  through  every  stage 
of  transmigration  from  the  lowest  animate  and  inanimate  atom  and  in- 
sect, up  to  the  higlicst — or  man,  contains  simply  the  well-known  occult 
aphorism:  "a  stone  becomes  a  plant,  a  plant  an  animal,  and  an  animal  a 
man".  Every  human  being  who  has  ever  existed,  has  passed  througli 
the  same  evolution.  But  the  hidden  .symbolism  in  the  sequence  of  these 
re-births  (jdtaka)  contains  a  jx'rfect  history  of  the  evolution  on  this 
earth,  pre  and  post  liuman,  and  is  a  scientific  exposition  of  natural  facts. 
One  truth  not  veiled  but  bare  and  open  is  found  in  their  nomenclature. 
riz.,  that  as  soon  as  Gautama  had  reached  the  human  form  he  began  ex- 
hibiting in  every  personality  the  utmost  unselfishness,  .self-sacrifice  and 
charity.  Buddha  Gautama,  the  fourth  of  the  Sapta  (Seven)  Buddhas 
and  Sapta  Tathagatas,  was  born  according  to  Chinese  Chronology  in 
1024  B.C.;  but  according  to  the  Singhalese  chronicles,  on  the  8th  day 
of  tlie  second  (or  fourth)  moon  in  the  year  621  before  our  era.  He  fled 
from  his  father's  j)alace  to  become  an  ascetic  on  the  night  of  the  8th 
day  of  the  second  moon,  597  B.C.,  and  having  passed  six  years  in  ascetic 
meditation  at  Gaya,  and  perceiving  that  physical  self-torture  was  use- 
J/^ss  to  bring  enlightenment,  he  decided  upon  striking  out  a  new  path, 
until  he  reached  the  state  of  Bodhi.  lie  l)ecame  a  full  Buddha  on  the 
night  of  the  Stli  day  of  the  twelfth  moon,  in  the  year  592,  and  finally 
entered  Nirvana  in  the  year  543,  according  to  Southern  Buddhism.  The 
Orientalists,  however,  have  decided  upon  several  other  dates.  All  the 
rest  is  allegorical.  He  attained  the  state  of  Bodhisattva  on  earth  when 
in  the  personality  called  Prabhapala.  Tushita  stands  for  a  place  on  this 
globe,  not  for  a  paradise  in  the  invisible  regions.  The  .selection  of  the 
Sakya  family  and  his  mother  ]\Iaya,  as  "the  ])urest  on  earth,"  is  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  model  of  the  nativity  of  every  Saviour,  God  or  deified 
Reformer.  The  tale  about  his  entering  his  mother's  bosom  in  the  shape 
of  a  white  elephant  is  an  allusion  to  his  innate  wisdom,  the  elephant  of 
that  colour  being  a  symbol  of  every  Bodhisattva.  The  statements  that  at 
Gautama's  birth,  the  newly  born  l)abe  walked  srvrn  steps  in  four  direc- 
tions, that  an  Vdumhara  flower  bloomed  in  all  its  rare  beauty  and  that 
the  Naga  kings  forthwith  proceeded  '*to  baptise  him",  arc  all  so  many 
allegories  in  the  jihraseology  of  the  Initiates  and  well-understood  by 
every  Eastern  Occultist.  The  whole  events  of  his  noble  life  are  given 
in  occult  numbers,  and  every  so-called  miraculous  event — so  deplored 
by  Orientalists  as  confusing  the  narrative  and  making  it  impossible  to 
extricate  truth  from  fiction — is  simply  the  allegorical  veiling  of  the  truth. 
It  is  as  comprehensible  to  an  Occultist  learned  in  symbolism,  as  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  understand  for  a  European  scholar  ignorant  of  Occultism. 
Every  detail  of  the  narrative  after  his  death  and  before  cremation  is  a 
chapter  of  facts  wi-ittm  in  a  language  which  must  be  studied  before  it  is 


(32  THEOSOPIIK   \L 

understood,  otherwise  its  dtail  lttt<  r  will  lead  oiit-  into  absurd  coutra- 
ilictions.  For  insfanct'.  haviiif;  nniindt'd  his  disfiplcs  of  tlic  immortality 
of  Dharmakaya.  Hudtlha  is  said  to  have  passed  into  Samadlii,  and  lost 
liims«'lf  in  Nirvana— /rf>»j  which  num  c(in  r<tuni.  And  yet,  notwitli 
standing;  this,  the  Huddha  is  shown  hurstiiifr  open  the  lid  of  the  eofiin. 
and  stepping  out  of  it ;  saluting  with  folded  liands  his  mother  !Maya 
who  had  suddenly  appean-d  in  the  air,  tliou^'h  she  had  died  seven  days 
after  his  birth,  ete.,  ete.  As  Huddha  was  a  Chakravartti  (he  who  turns 
the  wheel  of  the  Law),  his  body  at  its  ereination  could  not  l)e  eonsumeil 
by  eonimon  fire.  What  happens?  Suddenly  a  ,jet  of  llanie  burst  out  of 
th(  Svastka  on  his  brrast,  and  redueed  ins  ixuly  to  aslies.  Spaee  pre- 
vents piving  more  instanees.  As  to  his  being  one  of  the  true  and  un- 
ileniable  S.wiouks  of  the  World,  suffice  it  to  say  that  the  most  rabid 
orthodox  missionary,  unless  he  is  hopelessly  insane,  or  has  not  the  least 
regard  even  for  historical  truth,  eannot  find  one  smallest  accusation 
against  the  life  and  j)ersonal  character  of  Ga\itama,  the  "Buddha". 
Witiiout  any  claim  to  divinity,  allowing  his  followers  to  fall  into  athe- 
ism, ratlier  than  into  the  degrading  superstition  of  deva  or  idol-worshij). 
his  walk  in  life  is  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  holy  and  divine.  Dur- 
ing the  45  years  of  his  mi.ssion  it  is  blameless  and  i)ure  as  that  of  a  god 
— or  as  the  latter  should  be.  lie  is  a  jierfect  exami)le  of  a  divine,  godly 
num.  He  readied  Buddhaship — i.e.,  complete  enlightenment — entirely 
by  his  own  merit  and  owing  to  his  own  individual  exertions,  no  god  be- 
ing supposed  to  liave  any  personal  merit  in  the  exercise  of  goodness  and 
holiness.  Esoteric  teachings  claim  that  he  renounced  Nirvana  and  gave 
up  the  Dharmakaya  vesture  to  remain  a  "Buddha  of  compassion"  within 
the  reach  of  the  mi.series  of  this  world.  And  the  religious  philosophy  he 
left  to  it  has  produced  for  over  2,000  years  generations  of  good  and  un- 
selfish men.  His  is  the  only  ahsohitcly  hluodhss  religion  among  all  the 
existing  religions:  tolerant  and  liberal,  teaching  universal  compassion 
and  charity,  love  and  self-sacrifice,  poverty  and  contentment  with  one's 
lot,  whatever  it  may  be.  No  persecutions,  and  enforcement  of  faith  by 
tire  and  sword,  liave  ever  disgraced  it.  No  thunder-and-lightning-vomit- 
ing  god  has  inti-rfered  with  its  chaste  comnuindments ;  and  if  tiie  simple, 
humane  and  i»hilosophical  code  of  daily  life  left  to  us  by  the  greatest 
Man-Reformer  ever  known,  should  ever  come  to  be  adopted  by  mankind 
at  large,  then  indeed  an  era  of  bliss  and  peace  would  dawn  on  Humanity. 

Buddhachhaya  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  shadow  of  Buddha''.  It  is  said 
to  becoiiie  visible  at  Certain  great  events,  and  during  some  im])osing 
ceremonies  j)erformed  at  Temples  in  commenioration  of  glorious  acts  of 
Buddha's  life.  Hiouen-t.seng,  the  Chinese  traveller,  names  a  certain  cave 
where  it  occasionally  appears  on  the  wall,  hut  adds  tliat  only  he  "whose 
mind  is  })erfectly  pure",  can  .see  it. 

Buddhaphala  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  fruit  of  F.u.ldha",  the  fruition 
of  Ardluittvaphalld,  or  Arhatshij). 

Buddhi  (Sk.).     Universal  Soul  or  Mind.     Mahdbuddhi  is  a  name  of 


GLOSSARY  $3 

Mahat  (see  "Alaya")  ;  also  the  spiritual  Soul  in  man  (the  sixth  prinei 
pie),  the  vehicle  of  Atma,  exoterically  the  seventh. 

Buddhism.  Biiddliism  is  now  split  into  two  distinct  Churches:  the 
Southern  and  tlie  Northern  Church.  The  former  is  .said  to  be  the  purer 
form,  as  having^  preserved  more  religiously  the  original  teachings  of  the 
Lord  Buddha.  It  is  the  religion  of  Ceylon.  Siam.  Burmah  and  other 
places,  while  Northern  Buddliism  is  confined  to  Tibet,  China  and  Nejtaul. 
Such  a  distinction,  liowever,  is  incorrect.  If  the  Southern  Cluireh  is 
nearer,  in  that  it  has  not  departed,  except  perhaj)S  in  some  trifling  dog- 
mas due  to  the  many  councils  held  after  the  death  of  the  Master,  from 
the  public  or  exoteric  teachings  of  Sakyamuni — the  Northern  Church  is 
the  outcome  of  Siddharta  Buddha's  esoteric  teacliings  which  he  confined 
to  his  elect  Bhikshus  and  Arliats.  In  fact.  Buddhism  in  the  present  age. 
cannot  be  justly  judged  either  by  one  or  the  other  of  its  (xutiric  popular 
forms.  Real  Buddliism  can  be  appreciated  only  by  blending  the  phil- 
osophy of  the  Southern  Church  and  the  metaphysics  of  the  Northern 
Schools.  If  one  seems  too  iconocla.stic  and  stern,  and  the  other  too  meta- 
physical and  transcendental,  even  to  being  overgrown  with  the  weeds  of 
Indian  exotcricism — many  of  the  gods  of  its  Pantheon  having  been  trans- 
planted under  new  names  to  Tibetan  soil — it  is  entirely  due  to  the 
popular  expression  of  Buddhism  in  both  Churches.  Corre.spondentially 
they  stand  in  their  relation  to  each  other  as  Protestantism  to  Roman 
Catholicism.  Both  err  by  an  excess  of  zeal  and  erroneous  interpretations, 
though  neither  the  Southern  nor  the  Northern  Buddhist  clergy  have  ever 
departed  from  truth  consciously,  still  less  have  they  acted  under  the 
dictates  of  pricstocrac]i,  ambition,  or  with  an  eye  to  personal  gain  and 
power,  as  the  two  Christian  Churches  have. 

Buddhochinga  (Sk.).  The  name  of  a  great  Indian  Arhat  who 
went  to  China  in  the  4th  century  to  propagate  Buddhism  and  converted 
masses  of  people  by  means  of  miracles  and  most  wonderful  magic  feats. 

Budha  (^k.).  "The  Wise  and  Intelligent",  the  Son  of  Soma,  the 
Moon,  and  of  Rokini  or  Taraka,  wife  of  Brihasj^ati  carried  away  by 
King  Soma,  thus  leading  to  tlie  great  war  between  the  Asuras,  who  sided 
with  the  Moon,  and  the  Gods  who  took  the  defense  of  Brihaspati  (Ju- 
piter) who  was  their  I'urohita  (family  priest).  This  war  is  known  as 
the  Tarakaynaya.  It  is  the  original  of  the  war  in  Olympus  between  the 
Gods  and  the  Titans  and  also  of  the  war  (in  Rcvdaiion)  between  Michael 
(Indra)  and  the  Dragon  (personifying  the  Asuras). 

Bull-Worship  (See  "Apis").  The  worship  of  the  Bull  and  the 
Ram  was  addres.sed  to  one  and  the  same  power,  that  of  generative  crea- 
tion, under  two  aspect.s — the  celestial  or  cosmic,  and  the  terrestrial  or 
human.  The  ram-headed  gods  all  belong  to  the  latter  aspect,  the  bull 
— to  the  former.  Osiris  to  whom  the  bull  was  sacred,  was  never  regarded 
as  a  phallic  deity;  neither  was  Siva  with  his  Bull  Nandi,  in  spite  of  the 
lingham.     As  Nandi  is  of  a  pure  milk-white  colour,  so  was  Apis.     Both 


(34  Till-KKSorJIirAl- 

wrri'  the  fmblcin.s  of  tlu^  ^ji'iuTiitivt',  or  of  I'volutionary  power  iu  tho 
I'liivfrsal  Kosinos.  Tliost-  who  n-gard  the  solar  gotls  and  the  bulls  as 
of  a  phallic  eharactiT,  or  connect  the  Sun  with  it,  are  mistaken.  It  is 
only  the  lunar  gods  and  the  rams,  and  lambs,  which  are  priapic,  and  it 
little  becomes  a  n-ligion  which,  however  unconsciously,  has  still  adopted 
for  its  worship  a  god  pre-eminently  lunar,  and  accentuated  its  choice  by 
the  selection  of  the  lamb,  whose  sire  is  the  ram.  a  glyph  as  pre-eminently 
phallic,  for  its  most  sacred  symbol — to  vilify  the  older  religions  for  using 
the  .same  .symbolism.  The  worship  of  the  bull,  Apis,  Hapi  Ankh,  or  the 
living  Osiris,  cea.scd  over  3,000  years  ago;  the  worship  of  the  ram  and 
lamb  continues  to  this  day.  Mariette  Bey  discovered  the  Serapeum,  the 
.\ecropolis  of  the  Apis-bulls,  near  Memphis,  an  imposing  subterranean 
<-rypt  2,000  fe<'t  long  and  twenty  feet  wide,  containing  tlie  mummies  of 
thirty  sacred  bulls.  If  1.000  years  hence,  a  Roman  Catholic  (Cathedral 
with  the  Kaster  lamb  in  it,  were  discovered  under  the  ashes  of  Vesuvius 
or  Etna,  would  future  generations  be  justified  in  inferring  therefrom 
that  Christians  were  "Iamb"  and  "dove"  worshippers?  Yet  the  two 
symbols  would  give  them  as  much  right  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other. 
Moreover,  not  all  of  the  sacred  "bulls"  were  phallic,  i.t.,  males;  there 
Were  hermaphrodite  and  sexless  "bulls".  Tlie  black  bull  Mnrvis.  the 
son  of  Ptah,  was  sacred  to  the  God  Ra  at  Ileliopolis;  the  Pacis  of  Her- 
monthis — to  Amoun  Ilorus,  etc.,  etc.,  and  Apis  him.sclf  was  a  herma- 
phodite  and  not  a  male  animal,  which  shows  his  cosmic  character.  As 
well  call  the  Taurus  of  the  Zodiac  and  all  Nature  phallic. 

Bumapa   (Tib.).      A    school    of    inm.    usually    a    college    of    mystic 

students. 

Bunda-hish.  An  old  Eastern  work  in  which  among  otlier  things 
anthropology  is  treated  in  an  allegorical  fashion, 

Burham-i-Kati.     A  Hermetic  Eastern  work. 

Buri  ( Scaiitl.).    "The  producer",  the  Son  of  Bestla,  in  Norse  legends. 

Buru  Bonga.  Tiie  "Spirit  of  the  Hills".  This  Dryadic  deity  is 
worshipped  by  the  Kolarian  tribes  of  Central  India  with  great  cere- 
monies and  magical  display.  There  are  mysteries  connected  with  it,  but 
the  people  are  ver>'  jealous  and  will  admit  no  stranger  to  their  rites. 

Busardier.  A  Hermetic  philosopher  born  in  Bohemia  who  is 
eifdited  with  having  made  a  genuine  poivdcr  of  projection.  He  left  the 
bulk  of  his  r(d  powder  to  a  friend  named  Richthausen,  an  adept  and 
alehemist  of  Vienna.  Some  years  after  Busardier 's  death,  in  1637, 
liiclitliausen  introduced  himself  to  the  Emi)eror  Ferdinand  III,- who  is 
known  to  have  been  ardently  devoted  to  alchemy,  and  together  they  arc 
said  to  have  (converted  three  pounds  of  mercurv  into  the  finest  gold  with 
one  single  grain  of  Busardier 's  powder.  In  1658.  the  Elector  of  Mayence 
ahso  was  permitted  to  test  the  powder,  and  the  gold  produced  with  it  was 
<leelared  by  the  Master  of  the  Mint  to  be  such,  that  he  had  never  seen 


GLOSSARY  65 

finer.     Such  arc  tho  claims  vouchsafed  by  tin-  city  records  and  cliron- 
icles. 

Butler.  All  P]ii<,^li.sh  name  a.ssumed  by  an  adept,  a  discipU-  of  some 
Eastern  Sages,  of  whom  many  fanciful  stories  are  current.  It  is  said 
for  instance,  that  Butler  was  captured  during  his  travels  in  1629,  and 
.sold  into  eai)tivity.  He  became  the  slave  of  an  Arabian  philosopher,  a 
great  alchemist,  and  finally  escaped,  robbing  his  Master  of  a  large  quan- 
tity of  red  powder.  According  to  more  trustwortliy  records,  only  the 
last  portion  of  this  story  is  true.  Adepts  who  can  be  robbed  without 
knowing  it  would  be  unworthy  of  the  name.  Butler  or  rather  the  person 
who  assumed  this  name,  robbed  his  "Master"  (whose  free  disciple  he 
was)  of  the  secret  of  tra}ismutatio)\,  and  abused  of  his  knowledge — i.e., 
sought  to  turn  it  to  his  personal  profit,  but  was  speedily  imnished  for  it. 
After  performing  many  wonderful  cures  by  means  of  his  "stone"  (i.*., 
the  occult  knowledge  of  an  initiated  adept),  and  producing  extraordinary 
phenomena,  to  some  of  which  Val  Helmont,  the  famous  Occultist  and 
Rosicrucian,  was  witness,  not  for  the  benefit  of  men  but  his  own  vain 
glory,  Butler  was  imprisoned  in  the  Castle  of  Viloord.  in  Flanders,  and 
passed  almost  the  whole  of  his  life  in  confinement.  He  lost  his  powers 
and  died  miserable  and  unknown.  Such  is  the  fate  of  every  Occidti.st 
who  abuses  his  power  or  desecrates  the  sacred  science. 

Bythos  (Gr.).  A  Gno.stic  term  meaning  "Depth"  or  the  "great 
Deep".  Chaos.  It  is  equivalent  to  space,  before  anything  had  formed 
itself  in  it  from  tlie  primordial  atoms  that  exist  eternally  in  its  spatial 
depths,  according  to  the  teachings  of  Occultism. 


66  TiiKosui'iiir.u. 


C. 

V-.' — Tile  third  Ifttt-r  of  the  P^nglish  alphal»tt,  whic-h  lias  no  equivalent  in 
Hebrew  I'xcej)!  Caph,  which  see  under  K. 

Cabar  Zio  (Gnost.).  "The  miorhty  Lord  of  Splendour"  (Codex 
Xiuarui  us),  they  who  procreate  seven  beneficent  lives,  "who  shine  in 
their  own  form  and  lijjht"  to  eounteraet  the  influence  of  the  seven 
"badly-disposed"  sti'llars  or  principles.  These  are  the  progeny  of  Kar- 
abtanos.  the  personification  of  concupiscence  and  matter.  The  latter  are 
the  seven  physical  planets,  the  former,  their  genii  or  Rulers. 

Cabeiri  or  Kabiri  (Phccn.).  Deities,  held  in  the  highest  veneration 
at  Thebes,  in  Lemnos,  Phrygia,  ^Macedonia,  and  especially  at  Samothrace. 
They  were  mystery  gods,  no  profane  having  the  right  to  name  or  speak 
of  them.  Herodotus  makes  of  them  Fire-gods  and  points  to  Vulcan  as 
their  father.  The  Kabiri  presided  over  the  Mysteries,  and  their  real 
number  has  never  been  revealed,  their  occult  meaning  being  very  sacred. 

Cabletow  (Mas.).  A  ^^lasonic  term  for  a  certain  object  used  in 
the  Lodges.  Its  origin  lies  in  the  thread  of  the  Brahman  ascetics,  a 
thread  which  is  also  used  for  magical  purposes  in  Tibet. 

Cadmus  (Gr.).  The  sui)poscd  inventor  of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet. 
He  may  have  been  their  originator  and  teacher  in  Europe  and  Asia 
Minor;  but  in  India  the  letters  were  known  and  used  by  the  Initiates 
ages  before  him. 

Caduceus  (Gg.).  The  Greek  poets  and  mythologists  took  the  idea  of 
the  Caduceus  of  Mercury  from  the  Egyptians.  The  Caduceus  is  found 
as  two  serpents  twisted  round  a  rod,  on  Egyptian  monuments  built  be- 
fore Osiris.  The  Greeks  altered  this.  We  find  it  again  in  the  hands  of 
./Esculapius  assuming  a  different  form  to  the  wand  of  ]\Iercurius  or 
Hermes.  It  is  a  cosmic,  sidereal  or  astronomical,  as  well  as  a  spiritual 
and  even  physiological  symbol,  its  significance  changing  with  its  appli- 
cation. ^Metaphysically,  the  Caduceus  represents  the  fall  of  primeval 
and  primordial  matter  into  gross  terrestrial  matter,  the  one  Reality  be- 
coming Illusion.  (See  Sect.  Doct.  I.  550.)  Astronomically,  the  head 
and  tail  represent  the  points  of  the  ecliptic  where  the  planets  and  even 
the  sun  and  moon  meet  in  close  embrace.  Physiologically,  it  is  the  sym- 
bol of  the  restoration  of  the  equilibrium  lost  between  Life,  as  a  unit, 
and  the  currents  of  life  performing  various  functions  in  the  human  body. 

Caesar.  A  far-famed  astrologer  and  "professor  of  magic",  i.e.,  an 
Occultist,  during  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.  of  France.  "He  was  reputed 
to  have  been  strangled  by  the  devil  in  1611,"  as  Brother  Kenneth  Mac- 
kenzie tells  us. 


GLOSSARY  57 

Cagliostro.  .1  fdnious  Adept,  whose  real  iiaiiie  is  claimed  (by  liis 
enemies)  to  have  been  Joseph  Balsanio.  lie  was  a  native  of  Palermo, 
and  studied  under  some  mysterious  foreifjner  of  whom  little  has  bt-eii 
ascertained.  His  accepted  history  is  too  well  known  to  need  repetition, 
and  his  real  iiistory  has  never  been  told.  Ilis  fate  was  that  of  every 
human  being  who  proves  that  he  knows  more  than  do  his  fellow-creat- 
ures; he  was  "stoned  to  death''  by  per.secutions,  lies,  and  infamous  ac- 
cusations, and  yet  he  was  the  friend  and  adviser  of  the  highest  and 
mightiest  of  every  land  he  visited.  He  was  finally  tried  and  .sentenced 
in  Rome  as  a  iieretic,  and  was  said  to  have  died  during  his  confinement 
in  a  State  prison.  (See  "^lesmer".)  Yet  his  end  was  not  utterly  un- 
deserved, as  he  had  been  untrue  to  his  vows  in  some  respects,  had  fallen 
from  his  state  of  chastity  and  yielded  to  ambition  and  selfisliness. 

Cain  or  Kai/n  (II(h.).  In  Esoteric  symbology  he  is  said  to  be  identi- 
cal with  Jehovah  or  tiie  "Lord  God"  of  the  fourth  chapter  of  Genesis. 
It  is  held,  moreover,  that  Abel  is  not  his  brother,  but  his  female  aspect. 
(See  Sec.  Doct.,  suh  voce.) 

Calvary  Cross.  This  form  of  cross  does  not  date  from  Christianity. 
It  was  known  and  used  for  mystical  purposes,  thousands  of  years 
before  our  era.  It  formed  part  and  parcel  of  the  various  Rituals,  in  Egypt 
and  Greece,  in  Babylon  and  India,  as  well  as  in  China,  Mexico,  and  Peru. 
It  is  a  cosmic,  as  well  as  a  physiological  (or  phallic)  symbol.  That 
it  existed  among  all  the  "heathen''  nations  is  testified  to  by  Tertullian. 
"How  doth  the  Athenian  Minerva  differ  from  the  body  of  a  cro.ss?"  he 
queries.  "The  origin  of  your  gods  is  derived  from  figures  moulded  on  a 
cross.  All  those  rows  of  images  on  your  standards  are  the  appendages 
of  crosses;  those  hangings  on  your  banners  are  the  robes  of  crosses." 
And  the  fiery  champion  was  right.  The  tau  or  T  is  the  most  ancient  of 
all  forms,  and  the  cross  or  the  tat  (q.v.)  as  ancient.  The  crux  ansata, 
the  cross  with  a  handle,  is  in  the  hands  of  almost  every  god,  including 
Baal  and  the  Pluenician  Asfarte.  The  croix  eramponuiv  is  the  Indian 
Swastica.  It  has  been  exhumed  from  the  lowest  foundations  of  the 
ancient  site  of  Troy,  and  it  appears  on  Etruscan  and  Chaldean  relics 
of  antiquit}'.  As  Mrs.  Jamieson  shows:  "The  ankh  of  Egypt  was  the 
crutch  of  St.  Anthony  and  the  cross  of  St.  Philip.  The  Laharum  of 
Constantine  .     .     was  an   emblem  long  before,   in   Etruria.    Osiris 

had  the  Lahannn  for  his  sign;  Horus  appears  sometimes  with  the  long 
Latin  cross.  The  Greek  pectoral  cro.ss  is  Egyptian.  It  was  called  by 
the  Fathers  'the  devil's  invention  before  Christ'.  The  crux  ansata  is 
upon  the  old  coins  of  Tarsus,  as  the  ^Maltese  upon  the  breast  of  an  A.ssy- 
rian  king.  .  .  The  cross  of  Calvary,  so  common  in  Europe,  occurs  on 
the  breasts  of  mummies.  ...  If  was  suspended  round  the  niM-ks  of 
sacred  Serpents  in  Egyi)t,     .     .  Strange  Asiatic  tribes  bringing  trib- 

ute in  Egypt  arc  noticed  with  garments  studded  with  crosses,  and  Sir 
Gardner  Wilkinson  dates  this  picture  B.C..  ir)00. "  Finally,  "Typhon. 
the  Evil  One.  is  ehained  by  a  cross!"  (E(/.  lielirf  and  Mod.  Thought  K 


68  THKOSOl'lIK'AI, 

Campanella,  Tomaso.  A  Calabrcse,  born  in  ir)6iS,  who.  from  liis 
iliiliUuxKl  exhibited  strange  powers,  and  gave  himself  up  during  liis 
whole  life  to  the  Oeeult  Arts.  The  story  whieh  shows  him  initiated  in 
his  boyhood  into  the  scert-ts  of  alchemy  and  thoroughly  instructed  in  the 
secret  science  by  a  Kabbi-Kai)balist  ///  n  fortniaht  by  means  of  notariroti. 
is  a  cock  and  bull  invention.  Occult  knowl(>dge.  even  when  an  htirloom 
from  the  preceding  Ijirth,  does  not  come  back  into  a  new  personality 
within  fifteen  days.  He  became  an  opponent  of  the  Aristotelian  mater- 
ialistic philosophy  when  at  Naples  and  was  obliged  to  fly  for  his  life, 
fjater.  the  Inquisition  sought  to  try  and  condemn  him  for  the  practice 
of  nuigic  arts,  but  its  clTorts  were  defeated.  During  his  lifetime  he 
wrote  an  enormous  quantity  of  magical,  astrological  and  alchemical 
works,  most  of  which  are  no  longer  e.xtant.  He  is  reported  to  have  died 
in  tlie  convent  of  the  Jacobins  at  Paris  on  May  the  21.st  1639. 

Canarese.  Tlu'  language  of  the  Kaniafic  originally  called  Kanar;i. 
one  of  the  divisions  of  South  India. 

Capricornus  (Lat.).  The  10th  sign  of  the  Zodiac  (Makara  in 
Sanskrit),  considered,  on  account  of  its  hidden  meaning,  the  most  im- 
portant among  the  constellations  of  the  mysterious  Zodiac.  It  is  fully 
described  in  tlie  Seen  t  Doctrinr,  and  therefore  needs  but  a  few  words 
more.  Whether,  agreeably  with  exoteric  statements,  Cai)ricornus  was 
related  in  any  way  to  the  wet-nurse  Amaltha'a  who  fed  Jupiter  with  her 
milk,  or  whether  it  was  the  god  Pan  who  changed  him.sclf  into  a  goat  and 
left  his  impress  upon  the  sidereal  records,  matters  little.  Each  of  the 
fables  has  its  significance.  p]verything  in  Nature  is  intimately  corre- 
lated to  the  rest,  and  therefore  the  students  of  ancient  lore  will  not  be 
too  much  surprised  when  told  that  even  the  seven  steps  taken  in  the 
direction  of  every  one  of  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  or — 28  steps — 
taken  by  the  new-born  infant  Buddha,  are  closely  related  to  the  28  stars 
of  the  constallation  of  Capricornus. 

Cardan,  Jt'mnh .  An  astrologer,  alchemist,  kabbalist  and  mystic, 
well  known  in  literature.  lie  was  born  at  Pavia  in  1501,  and  died  at 
Rome  in  1576. 

Carnac.  A  very  ancient  site  in  Brittany  (France)  of  a  temple  of 
Cyclopean  structure,  sacred  to  the  Sun  and  the  Dragon;  and  of  the 
same  kind  as  Karnac,  in  ancient  Egy]>t.  and  Stonehenge  in  England. 
(See  the  "Origin  of  the  Satanic  Myth"  in  Archaic  Symbolism.)  It  was 
built  by  the  prehistoric  hierophant-priests  of  the  Solar  Dragon,  or  sym- 
bolized Wisdom  (the  Solar  Kumnras  who  incarnated  being  the  highest). 
Each  of  the  stones  was  personally  })laced  there  by  the  successive  priest- 
adepts  in  i)ower,  and  commemoratt-d  in  symbolic  language  the  degree 
of  power,  status,  and  knowledge  of  each.  (See  further  Secret  Doctrine 
II.  381,  et  scq.,  and  also  "Karnac".) 

Caste.  Originally  the  system  of  the  four  liereditary  classes  into 
wiiich  the  Indian  population  was  divided:  Brahman,  Kshatriya,  Vai.sya, 


GLOSSAKV  69 

and  Sudra  (or  (U-secndants  of  Braliina.  Warriors,  Merchants,  and  th»' 
lowest  or  Afrriciilturalists  >.  Besides,  tlu-st-  original  four,  hundreds  have 
now  grown  up  in  India. 

Causal  Body.  This  "IkkIn  ",  whieli  is  no  l)ody  either  objective  or 
subjective,  but  Buddhi,  the  Spiritiial  Soul,  is  so  called  because  it  is  the 
direct  cause  of  the  Sushupti  condition,  leading  to  tlie  Turya  state,  the 
highest  state  of  Sawadhi.  It  is  caUed  Karanopadhi,  "the  basis  of  the 
Cause",  by  the  Taraka  Raja  Yogis;  and  in  the  Vedanta  system  it  cor- 
responds to  both  the  Vignanamaija  and.  Anandamaya  Kosha,  the  latter 
coming  next  to  Atraa,  and  therefore  being  the  vehicle  of  the  universal 
Spirit.  Buddhi  alone  could  not  be  called  a  "Causal  Body",  but  becomes 
.so  in  conjunction  with  Manas,  the  incarnating  Entity  or  Ego. 

Gazette,  JacqiKs.  The  wonderful  Seer,  wiio  predicted  tiie  beliead- 
ing  of  .several  royal  personages  and  his  own  decapitation,  at  a  gay  supper 
some  time  before  the  first  Revolution  in  France.  He  was  born  at  Dijon 
in  1720,  and  studied  mystic  philosophy  in  the  school  of  Martinez  Pa.s- 
qualis  at  Lyons.  On  the  11th  of  September  1791.  he  was  arrested  and 
comdemned  to  death  by  the  president  of  the  revolutionary  government,  a 
man  who.  shameful  to  state,  had  been  his  fellow-student  and  a  member 
of  the  Mystic  Lodge  of  Pasqualis  at  Lyons.  Cazotte  was  executed  on 
the  25th  of  September  on  the  Place  du  Carrousel. 

Cecco  d'Ascoli.  Surnamed  "Francesco  Stabili"'.  lie  lived  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  and  was  considered  the  most  famous  astrologer 
in  his  daj'.  A  work  of  his  published  at  Basle  in  148o.  and  called  Com- 
mcntarii  in  Spharam  Joannis  de  Sacrahosco,  is  still  extant.  He  was 
burnt  alive  by  tlie  Inquisition  in  1327. 

Cerberus  (Or..  Lat.).  Cerberus,  the  three-hi^aded  canine  monster, 
which  was  su])posed  to  watch  at  the  threshold  of  Hades,  came  to  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  from  Eg>pt.  It  was  the  mon.ster,  half-dog  and 
half-hippopotamus,  that  guarded  the  gates  of  Amenti.  The  mother  of 
(^erberus  was  Eehidna^ — a  Ix'ing  half-woman,  half-serpent, much  honoured 
in  Etruria.  Both  the  Egyptian  and  Greek  Cerberus  are  symbols  of 
Kamaloka  and  its  uncouth  monsters,  the  cast-off  shells  of  mortals. 

Ceres  (Lat.).  In  Greek  Dcmrftr.  As  the  female  aspect  of  Peter 
^ther.  Jupiter,  she  is  esoterically  the  productive  principle  in  the  all- 
pervading  Spirit  that  quickens  every  germ  in  the  material  universe. 

Chabrat  Zereh  Aur  Bokher  (Il<h.).  An  order  of  tlie  Rosicrueian 
stock,  wlio.se  nu'ml)er.->  study  the  Kabbalah  and  Hermetic  sciences: 
it  admits  both  sexes,  and  has  many  grades  of  instruction.  The  members 
meet  in  private,  and  the  very  existence  of  the  Order  is  generally  un- 
known, [w.w.w.] 

Chadayatana  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  six  dwellings  or  tjatu s  in  man  for 
the  reception  of  .sensations;  thus,  on  the  physical  plane,  the  eyes.  nose, 
ear,  tongue,  body  (or  touch)  and  mind,  as  a  product  of  the  physical 
brain  and  on  the  mental  plane  (esoterically).  spiritual  sight,  smell,  hear- 


70  TIIEOSOPHICAL 

ing,  taste,  touch  and  perception,  the  whole  syntliesized  by  the  Buddhi- 
atmic  eh'ment.  C'hailayatana  is  one  of  the  12  yidiinas,  wliicli  form  tlie 
ehain  of  incessant  causation  and  effect. 

Chaitanya  (Sk.).  The  founder  of  a  nustieal  s«'et  in  India.  A 
ratli.r  iiiodtrn  sa«re.  believed  to  be  an  avatar  of  Krishna.. 

Chakna-padma-karpo  (Tib.).  "lie  who  holds  the  lotus".  u.sed 
of  Chi'tinsi,  the  Ht)dhisattva.  It  is  not  a  {genuine  Tibetan  word,  but  half 
Sanskrit. 

Chakra  (Sk.).  A  wheel,  a  disk,  or  tlie  circle  of  Vishnu  jrenerally. 
['s,(l  also  of  a  cycle  of  time,  and  with  other  meanings. 

Chakshub  (Sk.).  The  "eye".  Loka-chakshuh  or  "the  eye  of  the 
world"  is  a  title  of  the  Sun. 

Chaldean  Book  of  Numbers.  A  work  which  contains  all  that  is 
found  in  the  Zohar  of  Simeon  Ben-Jochai,  and  much  more.  It 
nuist  be  the  older  by  many  centuries,  and  in  one  sense  its  original,  as  it 
contains  all  tlie  fundamental  principles  taught  in  the  Jewish  Kabbalistic 
works,  but  none  of  their  blinds.  It  is  very  rare  indeed,  there  being  per- 
hajts  only  two  or  three  copies  extant,  and  these  in  private  hands. 

Chaldeans,  or  Kasdim.  At  first  a  tribe,  then  a  ca.ste  of  learned 
Kal)balists.  They  were  the  savants,  the  magians  of  Babylonia,  a.s- 
trologers  and  diviners.  The  famous  Ilillel,  the  precursor  of  Jesus  in  phil- 
osophy and  in  ethics,  was  a.  Cluildean.  Franck  in  his  Kahhaia  point.=> 
to  the  close  resemblance  of  the  "secret  doctrine"  found  in  the  Avcsta 
and  the  religious  metaphysics  of  the  Chaldees. 

Chandra  (Sk.).  The  >\Ioon  ;  also  a  deity.  Tlie  terms  Chandra  and 
Sonia  are  .synonyms. 

Chandragupta  (Sk.).  The  fir.st  Buddhist  King  in  India,  the  grand- 
sire  of  A.soka ;  the  Sandrafottus  of  the  all-bungling  Greek  \\Titers  who 
went  to  India  in  Alexander's  time.     (See  "Asoka".) 

Chandra-kanta  (Sk.).  "The  moon-.stone",  a  gem  that  is  claimed  to 
l)e  formed  and  developed  under  the  moon-beams,  whicn  give  it  occult 
and  magical  properties.  It  has  a  very  cooling  influence  in  fever  if  ap- 
plied to  both  temples. 

Chandramanam  (Sk.).    The  method  of  calculating  time  by  the  Moon. 

Chandrayana  (Sk.).    The  lunar  year  chronology. 

Chandra-vansa  (Sk.).  The  "Lunar  Race",  in  contradistinction 
to  Siiri/diuinsa,  the  "Solar  Race".  Some  Orientalists  think  it  an  incon- 
sistency that  Krishna,  a  Chandravansa  (of  the  Yadu  branch)  should 
have  been  declared  an  Avatar  of  Vishnu,  who  is  a  manifestation  of  the 
solar  energy  in  Rig- Veda,  a  work  of  unsurpassed  authority  with  the 
Brahmans.  This  shows,  however,  the  deep  occult  meaning  of  the  Avatar; 
a  meaning  which  only  esoteric  philosophy  can  exj)lain.  A  glos.sary  is  no 
fit  place  for  such  explanations;  but  it  may  be  useful  to  remind  those 
who  know,  and  teach  those  who  do  not,  that  in  Occultism,  man  is  called 


GLOSvSARY  71 

a  solar-lunar  being,  solar  in  his  higlu-r  triad,  and  lunar  in  his  quarter- 
nary.  Moreover,  it  is  the  Sun  who  imparts  his  light  to  the  Moon,  in  the 
same  way  as  the  human  triad  sheds  its  divine  light  on  the  mortal  shell  of 
sinful  man.  Life  celestial  quickens  life  terrestrial.  Krishna  stands 
metaphysically  for  the  Ego  made  one  with  Atma-Huddhi,  and  performs 
mystically  the  same  function  as  the  Christ os  of  tlit-  Gnostics,  both  being 
"the  inner  god  in  the  temple" — man.  Lucifer  is  "the  l)right  morning 
star",  a  well  known  symbol  in  Revelations,  and,  as  a  planet,  corresponds 
to  the  Ego.  Now  Lucifer  (or  the  planet  Venus)  is  the  Sukra-Usauas  of 
the  Hindus;  and  Usanas  is  the  Daitya-guru,  i.e.,  the  spiritual  guide  and 
instructor  of  the  Danavas  and  the  Daityas.  The  latter  are  the  giant- 
demons  in  the  Furdnas,  and  in  the  esoteric  interpretations,  the  antetypal 
symbol  of  the  man  of  flesh,  physical  mankind.  Tlie  l)aityas  can  raise 
themselves,  it  is  said,  through  knowledge  "austerities  and  devotion"  to 
"the  rank  of  the  gods  and  of  the  Ahsolute".  All  tliis  is  very  suggestive 
in  the  legend  of  Krishna;  and  what  is  more  suggestive  still  is  that  just 
as  Krishna,  the  Avatar  of  a  great  God  in  India,  is  of  the  race  of  Yadu, 
so  is  another  incarnation,"  "God  incarnate  himself" — or  the  "God- 
raan  Christ",  also  of  the  race  ladoo — the  name  for  the  Jews  all  over 
Asia.  Moreover,  as  his  mother,  who  is  represented  as  Queen  of  Heaven 
standing  on  the  crescent,  is  identified  in  Gnostic  pliilosophy,  and  also 
in  the  esoteric  system,  with  the  Moon  her.self,  like  all  the  other  lunar 
goddesses  such  as  Isis,  Diana.  Astarte  and  others — motliers  of  tlie  Logoi, 
so  Christ  is  called  repeatedly  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  Sun- 
Christ,  the  Christ-Sol(  it  and  so  on.  If  the  latter  is  a  nievaphor  so  also  is 
the  earlier. 

Chantong  (Tib.).  "He  of  the  1.000  Eyes',  a  name  of  Padmaj^ani 
or  Chenresi  (Avalokitesvara). 

Chaos  (Gr.).  The  Aby.ss  the  '"Great  Deep".  It  was  personified 
in  Egj'pt  by  the  Goddess  Neith,  anterior  to  all  gods.  As  Deveria  says, 
"the  only  God.  without  form  and  sex,  who  gave  birth  to  itself,  and  with- 
out fecundation,  is  adored  under  the  form  of  a  Virgin  Mother".  She 
is  the  vulture-lu'aded  Goddess  found  in  the  oldest  period  of  Abydos, 
who  belongs,  accordingly  to  Mariette  Bey.  to  the  lirst  Dynasty,  which 
would  make  her,  even  on  the  confession  of  the  time-dwarfing  Orientalists, 
about  7.000  years  old.  As  ]\Ir.  Bonwick  tells  us  in  his  excellent  work  on 
Egyptian  belief — "Neith,  Nut,  Nepte,  Nuk  (her  names  as  variously 
read!)  i?  a  philosophical  conception  worthy  of  the  nineteenth  century 
after  the  Christian  era,  rather  than  the  thirty-ninth  before  it  or  earlier 
than  that".  And  he  adds:  "Neith  or  Nout  is  neither  more  nor  less  than 
the  Great  Mother ,  and  yet  the  Immaculate  Virgin,  or  female  God  from 
whom  all  things  proceeded".  Neith  is  the  "Father-Mother"  of  the 
Stanzas  of  the  Secret  Doctrine,  the  Swahhdvat  of  the  Northern  Bud- 
dhists, the  immaculate  Mother  indeed,  the  prototype  of  the  latest  "Vir- 
gin" of  all  :  for.  as  Sharpe  says,  "the  Feast  of  Candlemas — in  honour  of 


72  THEOSOPIIICAL 

the  goddess  Ne'ith — is  ytt  inarkctl  in  our  Alinaimes  as  Candlenuis  tlay. 
or  the  Purification  of  the  \'irf;in  Mary";  and  Beaun-pard  tells  us  of 
"the  lininaeulati'  Conception  of  the  Virj^in,  wlio  can  hcnci'forth,  as  well 
as  the  Hj,'yptian  Mim-rva.  tlic  mysterious  Neith,  boast  of  havinj:  come 
from  hersi'lf.  and  of  havinjr  piven  birth  to  God".  He  who  would  deny 
the  working;  of  cycles  and  the  recurrence  of  events,  let  him  read  what 
Xeith  was  7.000  years  n^o,  in  the  conception  of  the  Egyptian  Initiates, 
trying  to  popularize  a  philosophy  too  abstract  for  the  ma.s.se8;  and  then 
remend)er  the  subjects  of  disjiute  at  the  Council  of  Kphesus  in  4'M,  wlien 
Mary  was  (h'clared  Mother  of  God;  and  her  immaculate  Concejjtion 
forced  on  the  World  as  by  command  of  God,  by  Pojx'  and  Council  in 
lSr)8,  Ni'i'th  is  Swabhavat  and  also  the  Vedic  Aditi  and  the  Puranic 
Akasa,  for  "she  is  not  only  the  celestial  vault,  or  ether,  but  is  made  to 
api)ear  in  a  tree,  from  which  she  gives  the  fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Life  (like 
another  Eve)  or  pours  upon  her  worshippers  some  of  the  divine  water  of 
life".  Ilenci'  she  gained  the  favourite  appelation  of  "Lady  of  the  Syca- 
more", an  epithet  apj)lied  to  another  Virgin  (Bonwick).  The  resem- 
blance becomes  still  more  marked  when  Neith  is  found  on  old  pictures 
represented  as  a  ^lother  embracing  the  ram-headed  god,  the  "Lamb". 
An  ancient  stele  declares  her  to  be  "Neut,  the  luminous,  who  has  en- 
gendered the  gods" — the  Sun  included,  for  Aditi  is  the  mother  of  the 
Marttanda.  the  Sun — an  Aditya.  She  is  Naus,  the  celestial  ship;  hence 
We  find  her  on  the  prow  of  the  Egyj^tian  vessels,  like  Dido  on  the  prow 
of  the  ships  of  the  Phoenician  nuiriners,  and  forthwith  we  have  the  Virgin 
Mary,  from  Mar,  the  "Sea",  called  the  "Virgin  of  the  Sea",  and  the 
"Lady  Patroness"  of  all  Roman  Catholic  seamen.  The  Rev.  Sayce  is 
quoted  by  Bonwick,  exi)laining  her  as  a  principle  in  the  Babylonian  Baku 
(Chaos,  or  confusion)  i.r.,  "merely  the  Chaos  of  Genesis  .  .  .  and 
l)erhaps  also  Mot,  the  primitive  snibstance  that  was  the  mother  of  all  the 
gods".  Nebuchadnezzar  .seems  to  have  been  in  the  mind  of  the  learned 
profe.s.sor,  since  he  left  the  following  witness  in  cuneiform  language,  "1 
built  a  temple  to  the  Great  Goddess,  ray  Mother".  We  may  close  with 
the  words  of  Mr.  Bonwick  with  which  we  thoroughly  agree:  "She 
(Neith)  is  the  Ziruudna  of  the  Avesta,  'time  without  limits'.  She  is  the 
Nerfe  of  the  P^truscans.  half  a  woman  and  half  a  fish"  f whence  the  con- 
nection of  the  Virgin  ]\Iary  with  the  fish  and  pisccs) ;  of  whom  it  is  said  : 
"From  holy  good  Nerfe  the  navigation  is  happy.  She  is  the  Byihos  of 
the  Gno.stics,  the  One  of  the  Neoplatonists.  the  All  of  German  m(>taphy- 
sieians,  the  Anaita  of  Assyria."  • 

Charaka  (Sk.).  A  writer  on  Medicine  who  lived  in  Vedic  times.  He  is 
believed  to  have  been  an  incarnation  (Avatara)  of  the  Serpent  Srsha, 
i.e.,  an  embodiment  of  divine  Wisdom,  since  Sesha-Naga,  the  King  of 
the  "Serpent"  race,  is  synonymous  with  A)ionta,  the  seven-headed  Ser- 
pent, on  which  Vishnu  sleeps  during  the  pralaifds.  Ananta  is  the  "end- 
less" and  the  .symbol  of  eternity,  and  as  such,  one  witli  Space,  while 
Sesha  is  only  periodical  in  his  manifestations.     Hence  while  Vishnu  is 


GLOSSARY  75 

identified   witli   Aiiauta,   Charaka   is   only    the    Avatar   of   S.-sha.     (See 
"Ananta"  and  "Sesha".) 

Charnock,  Thomas.  A  great  aleheniist  of  the  sixtti-nth  eentiir\  :  u 
snr^^on  who  lived  and  practiced  near  Salishnry.  studying  tlie  art  in 
some  neighhoriiig  cloisters  with  a  i)riest.  It  is  said  that  he  was  initiated 
into  the  final  secret  of  transimitation  by  the  famous  mystic  William  Hird. 
who  "had  been  a  ]>rior  of  Bath  and  defrayed  the  expense  of  repairing 
the  Abbey  Church  from  the  gold  which  he  made  by  the  red  and  white 
elixirs"  (Roijal  Mas.  Cycl.).  Charnock  wrote  liis  Bn  x'iary  of  Fhilosophif 
ill  the  year  l')')?  and  tlie  Enicfma  of  Alchimij  in  1574. 

Charon  (dr.).  The  Egy})tian  Khu-i  n-ua,  the  hawk-headed  Steer-i- 
man  of  the  boat  conveying  the  Souls  across  the  black  waters  that  sep- 
arate life  from  death.  Charon,  the  Sun  of  P^rebus  and  Nox,  is  a  variant 
of  Khu-en-ua.  Tlie  dead  w^ere  obliged  to  pay  an  obelus,  a  small  piece  of 
money,  to  this  grim  ferryman  of  the  Styx  and  Acheron;  therefore  the 
ancients  always  placed  a  coin  under  the  tongue  of  the  deceased.  Th.is 
custom  has  been  i)reserved  in  our  own  times,  for  most  of  the  lower  cla.sses 
in  Russia  place  coppers  in  the  coffin  under  the  head  of  the  dead  for  post 
mortem  expenses. 

Charvaka  (Sk.).  There  were  two  famous  beings  of  this  name. 
One  a  Iialcshasa  (demon)  who  disguised  himself  as  a  Brahman  and 
entered  HastiiiTi-pura  ;  wiiereupon  the  Brahmans  discovered  the  impos- 
ture and  reduced  Charvaka  to  ashes  with  the  fire  of  their  eyes, — i.e.^ 
magnetically  by  means  of  what  is  called  in  Occultism  the  "black  glance'* 
or  evil  eye.  The  second  was  a  terrible  materialist  and  denier  of  all  but 
matter,  who  if  he  could  come  back  to  life,  would  put  to  shame  all  the 
"Free  thinkers"  and  "Agnostics"  of  the  day.  lie  lived  before  the  Ra- 
mayanic  period,  but  his  teachings  and  school  have  survived  to  this  day. 
and  he  has  even  now  followers,  who  are  mostly  to  be  found  in  Bengal. 

Chastanier,  B<n(dkt.  A  French  mason  who  established  in  Tjon 
don  in  17()7  a  Lodge  called  "The  Illuminated  Theosophists". 

Chatur   mukha    (Sk.).     The  "four-faced    one",    a    title    of    Brahma. 

Chatur  varna  (Sk.).    Tiie  four  castes  (lit.,  colours). 

Chaturdasa  Bhuvanam  (Sk.).  The  fourteen  lokas  or  planes  of  ex- 
istence.     Hsolei'ieally.   the   dual  seven   states. 

Chaturyoni  (Sk.).  Written  also  tchatur-ijoni.  The  same  as  Kar- 
maya  or  "the  four  modes  of  birth" — four  ways  of  entering  on  the  path 
of  birth  as  decided  by  Karma:  (o)  birth  from  the  womb,  as  men  and 
mammalia;  (6)  birth  from  an  egg,  as  birds  and  reptiles;  (r)  from 
moisture  and  air-germs,  as  insects;  and  (r/)  by  sudden  self-transforma- 
tion, as  Bodhisattvas  and  Gods  (Anupadaka). 

Chava  (Ueb.).  Tlie  same  as  Eve:  "the  Mother  of  all  that  lives": 
"Life". 

Chavigny,  J((in  Almi  <h .  A  disciple  of  the  woi-Jd-faiiious  Nostra 
damus,   an   astrologer   and   an   alchemist   of   the   sixteenth   century.    He- 


74  THEOSOrUFCAI. 

died  in  the  year  1604.  His  life  was  a  very  quiet  one  and  he  was  almost 
unknown  to  his  contemporaries;  but  he  left  a  precious  manuscript  on  the 
pre-natal  and  post-natal  inHurnce  of  the  stars  on  certain  marked  individ- 
uals, a  secret  revealed  to  him  ])y  Nostradamus.  This  treatise  was  last  in 
the  possession  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  of  Russia. 

Chela  (Sk.).  A  disciple,  the  ])upil  of  a  Ouru  or  Sajre.  tiie  follower 
of  some  adept  of  a  school  of  philosophy  (lit.,  child). 

Chemi  (Erj.).     The  ancient  name  of  Ejrypt. 

Chenresi  (Tib.).  Tlie  Tibetan  Avalokitesvara.  Th.'  Bodhisattva 
r;u I iiiapani.  a  divine  Buddha. 

Cheru  (Scand.).  Or  Heru.  A  magfic  .sword,  a  weapon  of  the 
"sword  grod"  Ileru.  In  tiie  Edda,  the  Sagra  describes  it  as  destroying  its 
possessor,  .should  lie  be  unworthy  of  wielding  it.  It  brings  victory  and 
fame  only  in  the  hand  of  a  virtuous  hero. 

Cherubim  (Hrh.).  According  to  the  Kabbalists.  a  gi-oup  of  angels, 
wliieli  they  .specially  a.ssociated  with  the  Sephira  Jcsod.  In  Christian 
teaching,  an  order  of  angels  who  are  "watchers".  Genesis  places  Cher- 
ubim to  guard  the  lost  Eden,  and  the  0.  T.  frequently  refers  to  them 
as  guardians  of  the  divine  glory.  Two  winged  representations  in  gold 
were  placed  over  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant ;  colossal  figures  of  the  same 
were  also  placed  in  the  Sanctum  Sanctorum  of  the  Temple  of  Solomon. 
Ezekiel  describes  them  in  poetic  language.  Each  Cherub  appears  to 
have  been  a  compound  figure  with  four  faces — of  a  man,  eagle,  lion,  and 
ox,  and  was  certainly  winged.  Parkhurst,  in  voc.  Chcruh,  suggests  that 
the  derivation  of  the  word  is  from  K,  a  particle  of  similitude,  and  RB  or 
RUB,  greatness,  master,  majesty,  and  so  an  image  of  godhead.  Many 
other  nations  have  displayed  similar  figures  as  symbols  of  deity;  e.g., 
the  Egyptians  in  their  figures  of  Serapis,  as  Macrobius  describes  in  his 
Saturnalia;  the  Greeks  had  their  triple-headed  Hecate,  and  the  Latins 
had  three-faced  images  of  Diana,  as  Ovid  tells  us,  ccce  procul  ternis 
Hecate  variata  figuris.  Virgil  also  describes  her  in  the  fourth  Book  of 
the  JEneid.  Porphyry  and  Eusebius  write  the  same  of  Proserpine.  The 
Vandals  had  a  many-headed  deity  they  called  Triglaf.  The  ancient 
German  races  had  an  idol  Rodigast  witli  human  ])ody  and  heads  of  the 
ox,  eagle,  and  man.  The  Persians  have  some  figures  of  Mithras  with  a 
man's  body,  lion's  head,  and  four  wings.  Add  to  these  the  Chimaera, 
Sphinx  of  Egypt,  Moloch,  Astarte  of  the  Syrians,  and  some  figures  of 
Isis  with  Bull's  horns  and  feathers  of  a  bird  on  the  liead.  [w.w.w.] 

Chesed  (Hrh.).  ":\Iercy'\  also  named  Gedidah,  the  fourth  of  the 
fen  Sephiroth ;  a  masculine  or  active  potency,  [w.w.w.] 

Chhaya  (Sk.).  "Shade"  or  "Shadow".  The  name  of  a  creature 
produced  by  Sanjna,  the  wife  of  Surya,  from  her.self  (astral  body). 
Unable  to  endure  the  ardour  of  her  husband,  Sanjna  left  Chhaya  in  her 
place  as  a  wife,  going  herself  away  to  perform  austerities.  Chhaya  is 
the  astral  image  of  a  person  in  esoteric  philosophy. 


GLOSSARY  75 

Chhandoga  (Sk.).  A  Samhitd  colU'ction  of  Saiiia  W-da ;  also  a 
priest,  a  chanter  of  the  Sama  Veda. 

Chhanmiika  (SJx.).  A  great  Bodhisiittva  with  the  Northern  Bud- 
dhists, famous  for  his  ardent  love  of  Humanity ;  regarded  in  the  esoteric 
schools  as  a  Nirtnanakdya. 

Chhannagarikah  (Tib.).  Lit.,  the  school  of  six  cities.  A  famoui* 
j)hilosophicaI  school  where  Chelas  are  pn'i)ared  before  entcrin":  on  tlu" 
Path. 

Chhassidi  or  Chasdim.  In  the  Septuagint  Assidm,  and  in  English 
Assidcaus.  They  are  also  mentioned  in  Maccabees  I.,  vii.,  13,  as  being- 
put  to  death  witli  many  others.  They  w'ere  the  followers  of  Mattathias, 
the  father  of  the  Maccabeans.  and  were  all  initiated  mystics,  or  Jewish 
adepts.  The  word  means:  "skilled;  learned  in  all  wi.sdom.  human  and 
divine".  Mackenzie  (R.M.C.)  regards  them  as  the  guardians  of  the 
Temple  for  the  preservation  of  its  purity ;  but  as  Solomon  and  his  Tem- 
ple are  both  allegorical  and  had  no  real  existence,  the  Temple  means 
in  this  case  the  ''body  of  Israel"  and  its  morality.  "Scaliger  connects 
this  Society  of  the  Assideans  with  that  of  the  Essenes,  deeming  it  the 
predecessor  of  the  latter." 

Chhaya  loka  (Sk.).  The  world  of  Shades;  like  Hades,  the  world 
of  the  Eidola  and  Umbra.    We  call  it  Kdmaloka. 

Chiah  (Ileh.).  Life;  Vita,  Rcvivificatio.  In  the  Kabbala,  tlir 
second  highest  essence  of  the  human  soul,  corresponding  to  Chokmah 
(Wisdom). 

Chichhakti   (f^k.).     Chih-Sakti;  the  power  which  generates  thought. 

Chidagnikundum  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  fire-hearth  in  the  heart";  the 
seat  of  the  force  which  extinguishes  all  individual  desires. 

Chidakasam  (Sk.).    The  field,  or  basis  of  consciousness. 

Chifflet,  Jean.  A  Canon-Kabbalist  of  the  XVIIth  century,  reput«"d 
to  have  learned  a  key  to  the  Gnostic  works  from  Coptic  Initiates;  he 
wrote  a  work  on  Abraxas  in  two  portions,  the  esoteric  portion  of  which 
was  burnt  by  the  Church. 

Chiim  (Ilcb.).  A  plural  noun — "lives";  found  in  compound  names; 
Elohim  Chiim,  the  gods  of  lives,  Parkhurst  translates  "the  living  God"; 
and  Ranch  Chiim,  Spirit  of  lives  or  of  life,  [w.w.w.] 

China,  Tlie  Kabbalah  of.  One  of  the  oldest  known  Chinese  books  is 
the  Yih  King,  or  Book  of  Changes.  It  is  reported  to  have  been  written 
2850  B.C.,  in  the  dialect  of  the  Accadian  black  races  of  Mesopotamia.  It 
is  a  most  abstruse  system  of  Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy,  with  a 
scheme  of  universal  relation  and  divination.  Abstract  ideas  are  repre- 
sented by  lines,  half  lines,  circle,  and  points.  Tiius  a  circle  represents 
YIH,  the  Great  Supreme ;  a  line  is  referred  to  YIN,  the  Masculine  Active 
Potency;  two  half  lines  are  YANG,  the  Feminine  Passive  Potency. 
KWEI  is  the  animal  soul,  SHAN  intellect,  KHIEN  heaven  or  Father, 


76  TIlHOSOl'JllCAl. 

KIIWAX  tartli  or  Mother.  KAN  m-  QIIIX  is  Son;  inalc  iiumlKTs  are 
odd,  n-pivsi'iitt'd  by  li^'it  eirc-lts,  rtuialc  miiiilnTs  arc  I'ven,  by  black 
circU'S.  Tlu're  arc  two  most  mysterious  dia<irams.  one  calU'd  "HO  or  the 
River  Map",  and  also  associated  with  a  Horse;  and  the  other  called 
"The  Writin":  of  LO";  these  are  formed  of  {groups  of  white  and  black 
circles,  arran{;ed  in  a  Kabbalistic  manner. 

Tile  text  is  by  a  Kinjj;  named  Wan,  and  the  coinincntai'N-  by  Kan,  his 
son;  the  text  is  allowed  to  be  older  than  the  time  of  Confucius,  jw.w.w.] 

Chit   (>^k.).     Abstract   Consciousness. 

Chitanuth  our  (lid).).  Chitons,  a  priestly  j;arb ;  the  "coats  of  .skin'" 
yiven  by  Java  Alcim  to  Adam  and  Eve  after  their  fall. 

Chitkala  (Sk.).  In  Esoteric  philosophy,  identical  with  the  Ku- 
nu'iras,  those  who  Hr.st  incarnated  into  the  men  of  the  Third  Root-Race. 
(See  S(r.  Dort.:  Vol.   I.,  p.  288  n). 

Chitra  Gupta  (Sk.).  Tiie  deva  (or  god)  who  is  the  recorder  of 
Yama  (the  god  of  death),  and  who  is  supposed  to  read  the  account  of 
every  Soul's  life  from  a  register  called  Agra  Sandhdni,  when  the  said 
.soul  appears  before  the  .seat  of  Judgment.     (See  "Agra  Sandhani"). 

Chitra  Sikkandinas  (Sk.).  The  constellation  of  the  great  Bear;  th.- 
habitat  of  the  seven  Kishis  (Sapta-Riksha).    Lit.,  "bright-crested. 

Chnoumis  (Or.).  The  same  as  Chnouphis  and  Kneph.  A  symbol 
of  creative  force;  Chnoumis  or  Kneph  is  "the  unmade  and  eternal  deity" 
according  to  Plutarch.  He  is  represented  as  blue  (ether),  and  with  his 
ram's  head  with  an  asp  between  the  horns,  he  might  be  taken  for  Ammon 
or  Chnouphis  (q.v.).  The  fact  is  that  all  these  gods  are  solar,  and  rep- 
resent under  various  aspects  the  phases  of  generation  and  impregnation. 
Their  ram's  heads  denote  tliis  meaning,  a  ram  ever  symbolizing  genera- 
tive energy  in  the  abstract,  while  the  bull  was  the  symbol  of  strength  and 
tile  creative  function.  All  were  one  god,  whose  attributes  were  individ- 
ualised and  per.sonified.  According  to  Sir  G.  Wilkinson,  Kneph  or 
Chnoumis  was  "the  idea  of  the  Spirit  of  God";  and  Bonwick  explains 
that,  as  Av,  "matter"  or  "flesh",  he  was  criocephalic  (ram-headed), 
wearing  a  solar  disk  on  the  head,  standing  on  the  Serpent  Melien,  with 
a  viper  in  his  left  and  a  cross  in  his  riglit  hand,  and  bent  upon  the 
function  of  creation  in  the  underworld  (the  earth,  esotcrically).  The 
Kabbalists  identify  him  with  Binah,  the  third  Sephira  of  the  Sephirothal 
Tree,  or  "Binah,  represented  by  the  Divine  name  of  Jehovah".  If  as 
Chnoumis-Kneph,  he  represents  tlie  Indian  Narayana,  the  Spirit  of  God 
moving  on  the  waters  of  space,  as  Eichton  or  Ether  he  holds  in  his 
mouth  an  Egg,  the  symbol  of  evolution ;  and  as  Av  he  is  Siva,  the  De- 
stroyer and  the  Regenerator;  for,  as  Deveria  explains:  "His  journey  to 
the  lower  hemispheres  appears  to  symbolize  the  evolutions  of  substances, 
which  are  born  to  die  and  to  be  reborn."  Esotcrically,  however,  and  as 
taught  by  the  Initiates  of  the  inner  temple,  Chnoumis-Kneph  was  pre- 
emintly  the  god  of  reincarnation.    Says  an  inscription:  "1  am  Chnoumis, 


GLOSSARY  77 

Son  of  the  Uuiverse.  700",  a  mystiTv  liavin<^  a  direct  reference  to  the 
roincarnating  Ego. 

Chnouphis  (Gr.).  Nuitf  in  Ejryptiaii.  Another  aspect  of  Amnion, 
and  the  personification  of  his  jrenerative  power  in  actu,  as  Kneph  is  of 
the  same  in  potent ia.  lie  is  also  ram-headed.  If  in  his  aspect  as  Knepli 
he  is  the  Holy  Spirit  with  the  creative  ideation  brooding  in  him,  as 
Chnouphis,  he  is  the  angel  who  "comes  in"  into  the  Virgin  soil  and 
flesh.  A  prayer  on  a  papyrus,  translated  by  the  French  Egyptologist 
Chabas,  says:  "0  Sepui,  Cause  of  being,  who  hast  formed  thine  own 
body !  O  only  Lord,  proceeding  from  Noum  I  0  divine  substance,  cre- 
ated from  itself!  0  God,  who  hast  made  the  substance  wiiich  is  in  him  I 
0  God,  who  has  made  his  own  father  and  impregnated  his  own  mother." 
This  shows  the  origin  of  the  Christian  doctrines  of  the  Trinity  and  im- 
maculate conception.  He  is  seen  on  a  monument  seated  near  a  potter's 
wheel,  and  forming  men  out  of  clay.  The  tig-leaf  is  sacred  to  him,  which 
is  alone  sufficient  to  prove  him  a  phallic  god — and  idea  which  is  carried 
out  by  the  inscription :  "he  who  made  tliat  which  is,  the  creator  of  benigs, 
the  first  existing,  he  who  made  to  e.xist  all  that  exists."  Some  see  in 
him  the  incarnation  of  Ammon-Ra,  but  he  is  the  latter  himself  in  his 
phallic  aspect,  for,  like  Ammon,  he  is  "his  mother's  husband",  i.e.,  the 
male  or  impregnating  side  of  Nature.  His  names  vary,  as  Cnouphis. 
Noum,  Khem,  and  Khnum  or  Chnoumis.  As  he  represents  the  Demiurgos 
(or  Logos)  from  the  material,  lower  aspect  of  the  soul  of  the  World,  he 
is  the  Agathodffimon,  symbolized  sometimes  by  a  Serpent ;  and  his  wife 
Athor  or  Maut  (Mot  mother),  or  Sate,  "the  daughter  of  the  Sun", 
carrying  an  arrow  on  a  sunbeam  (the  ray  of  conception),  stretches  "mis- 
tress over  the  lower  portions  of  the  atmosphere",  below  the  constellations, 
as  Ne'ith  expands  over  the  starry  heavens.  (See  "Chaos".) 

Chohan  (Tib.).  "Lord"  or  "Master";  a  chief;  thus  Dhijini-Chohan 
would  answer  to  "Chief  of  the  Dhyanis",  or  celestial  Lights — which 
in  English  would  be  translated  Archangels. 

Chokmah  (Ilch.).  Wisdom;  the  second  of  the  ten  Sephiroth.  and 
the  second  of  the  supernal  Triad.  A  masculine  potenc}'  corresponding 
to  the  YocI  (1)  of  the  Tetragrammaton  IHVH,  and  ioAb,  the  Father. 
|w.w.w.] 

Chrestos  (dr.).  The  early  Gnostic  form  of  Christ.  It  was  used  in 
the  fifth  century  B.C.  by  -<Eschylus,  Herodotus,  and  others.  The  Mantcu- 
niota  pythochr( sta,  or  the  "oracles  delivered  by  a  Pythian  god"  through 
a  pythoness,  are  mentioned  by  the  former  {Chocph.  901).  Chrfstcrion 
is  not  only  "the  seat  of  an  oracle",  but  an  offering  to,  or  for,  the  oracle, 
Chrestes  is  one  who  explains  oracles,  "a  prophet  and  soothsayer",  and 
Chresterios  one  who  serves  an  oracle  or  a  god.  The  earliest  Christian 
writer,  Justin  Martyr,  in  his  first  Apologif,  calls  his  co-religionists  Chrcs- 
tians.  "It  is  oidy  through  ignorance  tiiat  men  call  themselves  Christians 
instead  of  Chrcstians,"  says  Lactantius  (lib.  iv.,  cap.  vii.).  The  terms 
Christ  and  Christians,  spelt  originally  ChrCst  and  Chn'stians,  were  bor- 


78  TIIEQSOI'Hl*  AL 

rowed  from  tht*  TeinpU'  vocabulary  »)f  the  Pat?ans.  Chn'stus  meant  in 
that  vocabulary  a  disciple  on  j)robation,  a  candidate  for  hieroithantshij). 
When  he  had  attained  to  this  throu{:^h  initiation.  lon<;  trials,  and  suffer- 
ing, and  had  been  ** anointed"  {i.e.,  "rubbed  with  oil",  as  were  Initiates 
and  even  idols  of  the  gods,  as  the  last  touch  of  ritualistic  observance), 
his  name  was  changed  into  (liristo.'i,  the  "purified",  in  esoteric  or  mys- 
tery language.  In  mystic  symbology,  indeed,  Chri.'itrs,  or  Cliristos, 
meant  that  the  "Way",  the  I'ath,  was  already  trodden  and  the  goal 
reached;  when  the  fruits  of  the  arduous  labour  uniting  the  [)ersonality  of 
evanescent  clay  with  the  indestructible  Individi'ality,  transformed  it 
thereby  into  the  immortal  P]go.  "At  the  end  of  the  Way  stands  the 
Chrestes",  the  Piiri/icr,  and  the  union  once  accomplished,  the  Chrestos. 
the  "man  of  sorrow",  became  Christo.f  himself.  Paul,  the  Initiate,  knew 
this,  and  meant  this  precisely,  when  he  is  made  to  say,  in  bad  transla- 
tion :  "I  travail  in  birth  again  until  Christ  be  formed  in  you"  (Gal. 
iv.  19),  the  true  rendering  of  which  is  .  .  .  "until  ye  form  the 
Christos  within  yourselves".  But  the  profane  who  knew  only  that 
Chrt'ste.s  was  in  some  way  connected  with  priest  and  prophet,  and  knew 
notiiing  about  the  hidden  meaning  of  Christos,  insisted,  as  did  Lactan- 
tius  and  Justin  Martyr,  on  being  called  Chrestians  instead  of  Christians. 
Every  good  individual,  therefore,  may  find  Christ  in  his  "inner  man"  as 
Paul  expresses  it  (P^phes.  iii.  16,  17),  whether  he  be  Jew,  Mussulman. 
Hindu,  or  Christian.  Kenneth  Mackenzie  seemed  to  think  that  the 
word  Chrestos  was  a  synonym  of  Soter,  "an  appellation  assigned  to 
deities,  great  kings  and  heroes,"  indicating  "Saviour," — and  he  was 
right.  For,  as  he  adds:  "It  has  been  applied  redundantly  to  Jesus 
Christ,  whose  name  Jesus  or  Joshua  bears  the  same  interpretation.  The 
name  Jesus,  in  fact,  is  rather  a  title  of  honour  than  a  name— the  true 
name  of  the  Soter  of  Ciiristianity  being  Emmanuel,  or  God  with  us 
(Matt,  i.,  23.).  .  ,  Great  divinities  among  all  nations,  who  are  rep- 
resented as  expiatory  or  self-sacrificing,  have  been  designated  by  the 
same  title."  {R.  M.  Cyclop.)  The  Asklepios  (or  JEsculapius)  of  the 
Greeks  had  the  title  of  Soter. 

Christian  Scientist.  A  newly-coined  term  for  denoting  the  prac- 
titioners of  an  art  of  iieaiing  by  will.  The  name  is  a  misnomer, 
since  Buddhist  or  Jew,  Hindu  or  Materialist,  can  practice  this  new  form 
of  Western  Yoga,  with  like  success,  if  he  can  only  guide  and  control  his 
will  with  sufticient  firmness.  The  "Mental  Scientists"  are  another  rival 
school.  These  work  by  a  universal  denial  of  every  disease  and  evil 
imaginable,  and  claim  syllogistically  that  since  Universal  Spirit  cannot 
be  subject  to  the  ailings  of  fiesh,  and  since  every  atom  is  Si)irit  and  in 
Spirit,  and  since  finally,  they — the  healers  and  the  liealed — are 
all  absorbed  in  this  Spirit  or  Deity,  there  is  not,  nor  can  there  be,  such  a 
thing  as  disease.  This  prevents  in  no  wise  botli  Christian  and  Mental 
Scientists  from  succumbing  to  disease,  and  nursing  chronic  diseases  in 
their  own  bodies  just  like  ordinary  mortals. 


GLOSSARY  79 

Chthonia  (Or.).    Chaotic  eartli  in  the  Hellenic  cosmogony. 

Chuang.     A  great  Chinese  philosopher. 

Chubilgan  (Mongol.).     Or  Khuhilkhan.     The  same  as  Chutuktu. 

Chutuktu  (Tib.).  An  incarnation  of  Buddha  or  of  some  Bod- 
hisattva,  as  believed  in  Tibet,  where  there  are  generally  five  manifesting 
and  two  secret  Chutuktus  among  the  high  Lamas. 

Chyuta  (8k.).  Means,  "the  fallen"  into  generation,  as  a  Kabbalist 
would  say;  the  oi)posite  of  achyuta,  something  which  is  not  subject  to 
change  or  differentiation ;  said  of  deity. 

Circle.  There  are  several  "Circles"  with  mystic  adjectives  at- 
tached to  them.  Thus  we  have:  (1)  the  "Decussated  or  Perfect  Circle" 
of  Plato,  who  shows  it  decussated  in  the  form  of  the  letter  X;  (2)  the 
"Circle-dance"  of  tlie  Amazons,  round  a  Priapic  image,  tlie  same  as  the 
dance  of  the  Gopis  around  the  Sun  (Krishna),  tlie  shepherdesses  rep- 
resenting the  signs  of  the  Zodiac;  (3)  the  "Circle  of  Necessity"  of  3,000 
years  of  the  Egyptians  and  of  the  Occultists,  the  duration  of  the  cycle 
between  rebirths  or  reincarnations  being  from  1,000  to  3,000  years  on 
the  average.  Tliis  will  be  treated  under  the  term  "Rebirth"  or  "Rein- 
carnation ' '. 

Clairaudience.  The  faculty,  wliether  innate  or  acquired  by  occult 
training,  of  hearing  all  that  is  said  at  whatever  distance. 

Clairvoyance.  The  faculty  of  seeing  with  the  inner  eye  or  spirit- 
ual sight.  As  ]iow  used  it  is  a  loose  and  lii|)i)ant  term,  eml)racing 
under  its  meaning  a  happy  guess  due  to  natural  slircwdness  or  intuition, 
and  also  that  faculty  which  was  so  remarkably  exercised  by  Jacob 
Boehme  and  Swedenborg.  Real  clairvoyance  means  the  faculty  of  seeing 
through  the  densest  matter  (the  latter  disappearing  at  the  will  and  before 
the  spiritual  eye  of  the  Seer),  and  irresjx'ctivc  of  tim('(  past,  present  and 
future)  or  distance. 

Clemens  Alexandrinus.  A  Church  Father  and  a  voluminous 
writer,  wlio  had  been  a  Neo-Platonist  and  a  disciple  of  Ammonius  Saccas. 
He  lived  between  the  second  and  the  third  centuries  of  our  era,  at  Alex- 
andria. 

Cock.  A  very  occult  biivl.  much  a])pi"cciate(l  in  aiu-ient  augury  and 
symbolism.  According  to  the  Zohar,  the  cock  crows  three  times  before 
the  death  of  a  per.son ;  and  in  Russia  and  all  Slavonian  countries  when- 
ever a  person  is  ill  on  the  premises  where  a  cock  is  kept,  its  crowing  is 
held  to  be  a  sign  of  inevitable  deatli,  unless  tlie  bird  crows  at  the  hour 
of  midnight,  or  immediately  afterwards,  when  its  crowing  is  considered 
natural.  As  the  cock  was  sacred  to  j!E.sculapius,  and  as  the  latter  was 
called  tiie  Sotcr  (Saviour)  wiio  raised  the  dead  to  life,  the  Socratic  ex- 
clamation "We  owe  a  cock  to  -^.sculapius",  just  before  the  Sage's  death, 
is  very  suggestive.  As  the  cock  was  always  connected  in  symbology  with 
the  Sun  (or  solar  gods),  Death  and  Resurrection,  it  has  found  its  ap- 
propriate place  in  the  four  Gospels  in  the  prophecy  about  Peter  repu- 


80  THEOSOPHICAL 

diating  his  Master  before  the  cock  crowed  thrice.     The  cock  is  the  most 
inajriirtic  and  sfiisitivc  of  all  birds,  hence  its  Greek  name  alcctruon. 

Codex  Nazaraeus  (Lat.).  The  "Book  of  Adam" — the  latter  name 
meaning:  (nithropos,  Man  or  Humanity.  The  Nazarene  faith  is 
called  sonii'tinu's  tin*  Bardesanian  system,  thoufjh  Bardcsancs  (h.c.  15.'> 
to  228)  does  not  seem  to  have  iiad  any  connection  with  it.  True,  he  was 
born  at  Edessa  in  Syria,  and  was  a  famous  astrologer  and  Sabian  before 
his  allepretl  conversion.  But  he  was  a  well-educated  man  of  nol)]('  fam- 
ily, and  would  not  have  used  the  almost  incomprehensible  Chaldeo-Syriae 
dialect  mixed  with  the  mystery  language  of  the  Gnostics,  in  which  the 
Codex  is  written.  The  sect  of  the  Nazarenes  was  pre-Christian.  Pliny 
and  Josei)hus  speak  of  the  Nazarites  as  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan 
150  years  B.C.  (.-1/)^  Jud.  xiii.  p.  9)  ;  and  Munk  says  that  the  "Naziareate 
was  an  institution  established  before  the  laws  of  Musah"  or  Mo.ses. 
(Munk  p.  169.)  Their  modern  name  is  in  Arabic —  El  Mogtasila;  in 
European  languages — the  Mendaans  or  "Christians  of  St.  John".  (See 
"Baptism".)  But  if  the  term  Baptists  may  well  be  applied  to  them,  it 
is  not  witli  the  Christian  meaning :  for  while  they  were,  and  still  are 
Sabians.  or  pure  astrolaters,  the  Mendteans  of  Syria,  called  the  Galileans, 
are  pure  polytheists,  as  every  traveller  in  Syria  and  on  the  Euphrates 
can  ascertain,  once  he  acquaints  himself  with  their  mysterious  rites  and 
ceremonies.  (See  Isis  Unv.  ii.  290,  et  scq.)  So  secretly  did  they  pre- 
serve their  beliefs  from  the  very  beginning,  that  Epiphanius  who  wrote 
against  the  Heresies  in  the  14th  century  confesses  himself  unable  to  say 
what  they  believed  in  (1.  122)  ;  he  simply  states  that  they  never  mention 
the  name  of  Jesus,  nor  do  they  call  themselves  Christians  {loc.  cit.  190). 
Yet  it  is  undeniable  that  some  of  the  alleged  philosophical  views  and 
doctrines  of  Bardesanes  are  found  in  the  codex  of  the  Nazarenes.  (See 
Norberg's  Codex  NazarcBus,  or  the  "Book  of  Adam",  and  also  "Men- 
daeans".) 

Coeur,  Jacques.  A  famous  Treasurer  of  France,  born  in  1408,  who 
obtained  the  office  by  black  magic.  He  was  reputed  as  a  great  alchemist 
and  his  wealth  became  fabulous;  but  he  was  soon  banished  from  the 
country,  and  retiring  to  the  Island  of  Cyprus,  died  there  in  1460,  leaving 
behind  enormous  wealth,  endless  legends  and  a  bad  reputation, 

Coffin-Rite,  or  Pa.stos.  This  w^as  the  final  rite  of  Initiation  in  trie 
Mysteries  in  Egypt,  Greece  and  elsewhere.  The  last  and  supreme  secrets 
of  Occultism  could  not  be  revealed  to  the  Disciple  until  he  had  passed 
through  this  allegorical  ceremony  of  Death  and  Resurrection  into  new- 
light.  "The  Greek  verb  teleutao,"  says  Vronsky,  "signifies  in  the  active 
voice  'I  die',  and  in  the  middle  voice  'I  am  initiated'  ".  Stobaeus  quotes 
an  ancient  author,  who  says,  "The  mind  is  affected  in  death,  just  as  it 
is  in  the  initiation  into  the  Mysteries ;  and  w'ord  answers  to  word  as  well 
as  thing  to  thing;  for  tcleutan  is  'to  die',  and  telcisthai  'to  be  initiated'  ". 
And  thus,  as  Mackenzie  corroborates,  when  the  Aspirant  was  placed  in 


GLOSSARY  gl 

the  Pastos,  Bed,  or  Coffin  (in  India  on  the  lathe,  as  explained  in  the 
Secret  Doctrine),  "he  was  symbolically  said  to  die". 

Collanges,  Gahrul  dc.  Born  in  1524.  The  best  a.strologrcr  in  tlie 
XVIth  century  and  a  still  better  Kabbalist.  He  spent  a  fortune  in  the 
unravelling  of  its  mysteries.  It  was  rumored  that  he  died  througrli 
poison  administered  to  liim  by  a  Jewisli  Rabbin-Kabbalish. 

College  of  Rabbis.  A  college  at  Babylon ;  most  famous  during 
the  early  centuries  of  Christianity.  Its  glory,  however,  was  greatly 
darkened  by  the  appearance  in  Alexandria  of  Hellenic  teachers,  such 
as  Philo  Juda^us,  Josephus,  Aristobulus  and  otliers.  The  former  avenged 
themselves  on  their  successful  rivals  by  si)eakiug  of  the  Alexandrians  as 
theurgists  and  unclean  prophets.  But  the  Alexandrian  believers  in  thau- 
maturgy  were  not  regarded  as  sinners  or  impostors  when  orthodox  Jews 
were  at  the  head  of  such  schools  of  "'hazim".  These  were  colleges  for 
teaching  prophecy  and  occult  sciences.  Samuel  was  the  chief  of  such  a 
college  at  Ramah  ;  P^lisha  at  Jericho.  Ilillel  had  a  regular  academy  for 
prophets  and  seers;  and  it  is  Hillel,  a  pupil  of  the  Babylonian  College, 
who  was  the  founder  of  the  Sect  of  the  Piiarisees  and  the  great  orthodox 
Rabbis. 

Collemann,  Jean.  An  Alsatian,  born  at  Orleans,  according  to  K. 
Mackenzie ;  other  accounts  say  he  was  a  Jew,  wlio  found  favor  owing  to 
his  astrological  studies,  with  both  Charles  VII.  and  Louis  XL,  and  that 
he  had  a  bad  influence  on  the  latter. 

Collyridians.  A  sect  of  Gnostics  wlio,  in  the  early  centuries  of 
Christianity,  transferred  their  worship  and  reverence  from  Astoreth  to 
Mary,  as  Queen  of  Heaven  and  Virgin.  Regarding  the  two  as  identical, 
they  offered  to  the  latter  as  they  had  done  to  the  former,  buns  and  cakes 
on  certain  days,  with  sexual  symbols  represented  on  them. 

Continents.  In  the  Buddhist  cosmogony  according  to  Gautama 
Buddha's  exoteric  doctrine,  there  are  numberless  systems  of  worlds  (or 
Sakwala)  all  of  which  are  born,  mature,  decay,  and  are  destroyed  period- 
ically. Orientalists  translate  the  teaching  about  "the  four  great  contin- 
ents which  do  not  communicate  with  each  other",  as  meaning  that  "upon 
the  earth  there  are  four  great  continents"  (see  Hardy's  Eaftteni  Monach- 
ism,  p.  4),  while  the  doctrine  means  simply  that  round  or  above  tlie  earth 
there  are  on  either  side  four  worlds,  i.e.,  the  earth  appearing  as  the  fourth 
on  each  side  of  the  arc. 

Corybantes,  Mysterirs  of  the.  These  were  held  in  Phrygia  in 
honour  of  Atys,  the  youth  beloved  by  Cybele.  The  rites  were  very  elalior 
ate  within  the  temple  and  very  noisy  and  tragic  in  public.  They  began 
by  a  public  bewailing  of  the  death  of  Atys  and  ended  in  tremendous  re- 
joicing at  his  resurrection.  The  statue  or  image  of  the  victim  of  Jupiter's 
jealously  was  placed  during  the  ceremony  in  a  pastos  (coffin),  and  the 
priests  sang  his  sufferings.  Atys,  as  V^isvakarma  in  hidia,  was  a  repre- 
sentative of  Initiation  and  Adeptship.     He  is  shown  as  being  born  im- 


82  THEOSOl'HICAI. 

potont,  bfcausi'  i-liastity  is  a  rrquisitc  (tf  tlif  lifi"  of  an  asi)ii-aiit.  Atys 
is  said  to  luivf  establislu'd  tlit»  rites  aiul  worship  of  Cyhclc,  in  Lydia. 
fSot*  ruusnn.,  vii.,  c.  17.) 

Cosmic  Gods.  Infi-rioi-  ;,'0(is,  those  connreted  with  thr  formation 
of  matter. 

Cosmic  Ideation  lOicult.).  Eternal  thonj^ht,  imi»re.ss«'d  on  sub- 
stance or  spirit  matter,  in  the  eternity;  thouj^ht  which  l)ecome8  active 
at  the  l)ej::iniiinj!:  of  every  n»'W  life-cycle. 

Cosmocratores  f(ir.).  "Builders  of  tlie  Tnivers.'".  the  "world 
architects'",  or  tiie  Creative  Forces  personified. 

Cow- Worship.  The  idea  of  any  such  "worship"  is  as  erronecms 
as  it  is  unjust.  No  F^^yptian  worshipped  thr  cow,  nor  does  any  Hindu 
worship  this  aninud  now,  though  it  is  true  that  tlie  cow  and  hidl  were 
sacred  then  as  they  are  today,  but  oidy  as  tlie  natural  physical  symbol 
of  a  metaphysical  ideal;  even  as  a  church  made  of  bricks  and  mortar  is 
sacred  to  the  civilized  Christian  because  of  its  associations  and  not  by 
reason  of  its  walls.  The  cow  was  sacred  to  Isis,  the  Universal  Mother, 
Nature,  and  to  the  Ilathor.  the  female  principle  in  Nature,  the  two  pod- 
de.s.ses  beinj:  allied  to  both  sun  and  moon,  as  the  disk  and  the  cow's  horns 
(crescent)  prove.  (See  "Ilathor"  and  "Isis".)  In  the  Vedas,  the 
Dawn  of  Creation  is  represented  by  a  cow.  This  dawn  is  Ilathor,  and 
the  day  which  follows,  or  Nature  already  formed,  is  Isis,  for  both  are 
one  except  in  the  matter  of  time.  Hathor  the  elder  is  "the  mistress  of 
the  seven  mystical  cows"  and  Isis,  "the  Divine  Mother",  is  the  "cow- 
horned",  tfu  cow  of  plctity  (or  Nature,  p]arth).  and,  as  the  mother  of 
Horns  (the  j)hysical  world) — the  "mother  of  all  that  lives".  The  outa 
was  the  synd)olic  eye  of  Ilorus,  the  rijj^ht  being  the  sun,  and  the  left  the 
moon.  Tlie  right  "eye"  of  Ilorus  was  called  "the  cow  of  Ilathor",  and 
served  as  a  powerful  amulet,  as  the  dove  in  a  nest  of  rays  or  glory,  with 
or  without  the  cross,  is  a  talisman  with  Christians,  Latins  and  Greeks. 
The  7^1///  and  the  Lion  which  we  often  find  in  company  with  Luke  and 
Mark  in  the  frontispiece  of  their  respective  Gospels  in  the  Greek  and 
Latin  texts,  are  explained  as  symbols — which  is  indeed  the  fact.  "Why 
not  admit  the  same  in  the  case  of  the  Egyptian  sacred  liulls,  ( 'ows,  Kams. 
and  Birds? 

Cramer,  Jolm.  An  eminent  scholar  who  for  over  thirty  years  studied 
Hermetic  philo.sophy  in  pursuance  of  its  practical  secrets,  while  he  was 
at  the  same  time  Abbot  of  Westminster.  While  on  a  voyage  to  Italy,  he 
met  the  famous  Raymond  Lully  whom  he  induced  to  return  with  him  to 
England.  Lully  divulged  to  Cremer  the  secrets  of  the  stone,  for  which 
.service  the  monastery  offered  daily  i)rayers  for  him.  Cremer,  says  the 
Royal  Masonic  Cj/cloprdia,  "having  obtained  a  profound  knowledge  of 
the  secrets  of  Alehemy.  Ix'came  a  most  celebrated  adept  in  occult  phil- 
osopliv  lived  to  a  good  old  age.  and  died  in  tlie  nngn  of  King 

Edward  III." 


OLOSSARY  33 

Crescent.  Sin  was  tlie  Assyrian  naiiu-  for  the  moon,  ami  Sinai  tin- 
Mount,  the  birtli-plaee  of  Osiris,  of  Dionysos,  Bacchus  and  several  other 
{rods.  Aceordinpr  to  Rawlinson,  the  moon  was  held  in  liiprlier  esteem  than 
the  sun  at  Babylon,  Ixcause  darkness  pr<  ct  (hd  light.  The  crescent  was. 
therefore,  a  sacred  symbol  with  almost  every  nation,  before  it  became  the 
standard  of  the  Turks.  Says  the  author  of  Egyptian  Bdi^f,  "The  cres- 
cent  is  not  es.sentially  a  Maliomctan  ensign.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  was  a  christian  one,  derived  throu«ijli  Asia  from  the  Babylonian 
Astarte,  Queen  of  Heaven,  or  from  the  E<?yptian  Isis  ....  wliose 
t-mblem  was  the  crescent.  Tiie  Greek  Cliristian  Empire  of  Constantino- 
j>le  held  it  as  their  palladium.  Ui)on  tiie  conquest  of  the  Turks,  the 
Mahometan  Sultan  adopted  it  for  the  .symbol  of  his  i)ower.  Since  that 
time  the  crt scrnt  has  been  made  to  oppo.se  tiie  idea  of  the  cross." 

Criocephale  (dr.).  Ram-headed,  applied  to  si-veral  deities  and 
emblematic  tigrures,  notably  those  of  ancient  Egypt,  which  were  de- 
signed about  the  period  when  the  Sun  pas-stnl,  at  the  Vernal  Equinox, 
from  the  sign  Taurus  to  the  sign  Aries.  Previously  to  this  period,  bull- 
headed  and  horned  deities  prevailed.  Apis  was  the  type  of  the  Bull 
deity,  Ammon  that  of  the  ram-headed  type:  Isis,  too,  had  a  Cow's  head 
allotted  to  her.  Porphyry  writes  that  the  Greeks  united  the  Ram  to 
Jupiter  and  the  Bull  to  Bacchus,  fw.w.w.] 

Crocodile.  "The  great  reptile  of  Typhon."  The  seat  of  its  "wor- 
shij/'  was  Crocodilopolis  and  it  was  sacred  to  Set  and  Sebak — its  alleged 
creators.  The  primitive  Ri.shis  in  India,  the  Manns,  and  Sons  of  Brah- 
ma, are  each  the  progenitors  of  some  animal  species,  of  which  he  is  the 
alleged  "father";  in  Egypt,  each  god  was  credited  with  the  formation 
or  creation  of  certain  animals  which  were  sacred  to  him.  Crocodiles 
must  have  been  numerous  in  Egypt  during  the  early  dynasties,  if  one 
has  to  judge  by  the  almo.st  incalculable  number  of  their  mummies.  Thou- 
sands upon  thousands  have  been  excavated  from  the  grottoes  of  Moabdeh, 
and  many  a  vast  necropolis  of  that  Typhonic  animal  is  still  left  un- 
touclied.  But  the  Crocodile  was  only  worshipped  where  his  god  and 
"father"  received  honours.  Typhon  (^r/.r. J  had  once  received  sucli  honours 
and,  as  Bunsen  shows,  had  been  considered  a  great  god.  His  words  are, 
"Down  to  the  time  of  Ramses  n.c.  1300,  Typhon  was  one  of  tiie  most 
venerated  and  powerful  gods,  a  god  who  pours  blessings  and  life  on  the 
rulers  of  Egypt."  As  explained  elsewhere,  Typhon  is  the  material  aspect 
of  Osiris.  When  Typhon,  the  Quaternary,  kiUs  Osiris,  the  triad  or  di- 
vine Light,  and  cuts  it  metaphorically  into  14  pieces,  and  .separates  him- 
self from  the  "god",  he  incurs  the  execration  of  the  masses;  he  becomes 
the  evil  god,  tlie  storm  and  hurricane  god,  the  burning  sand  of  tlie  Des- 
ert, the  constant  enemy  of  the  Nile,  and  the  "slayer  of  the  evening  bene- 
ficent dew",  becau.se  Osiris  is  the  ideal  Universe,  Siva  the  great  Regener- 
ative Force,  and  Tyjihon  the  material  ])ortion  of  it,  the  evil  side  of  the 
god,  or  the  Destroying  Siva.  This  is  wliy  the  crocodih'  is  also  partly 
venerated  and  jmrtly  execrated.     The  apj)earanee  of  the  crocodile  in  the 


84  TIIE08<)I'1II(AL 

Desert,  far  from  thr  watt-r,  profjaostieattd  tin-  liajjpy  event  of  tlie  roiu- 
ing  inuiulatioii — ^lu'iin-  its  adoration  at  Tliflu'S  and  Oinbos.  But  he  de- 
stroyoil  thousands  of  human  and  animal  Ix'ings  yearly — hence  also  the 
hatred  and  persecution  of  the  Crocodile  at  Kh'pliantine  and  Tont^Ta. 

Cross.  Maiiette  liey  has  shown  its  antiquity  in  Kjrypt  hy  jirovinjr 
tliat  in  all  the  primitive  sepulchres  "the  plan  of  the  chamber  has  the 
form  of  n  cross".  It  is  the  symbol  of  the  Hrotherhood  of  races  and  men; 
Hud  was  laid  on  the  breast  of  the  corpses  in  Kprypt.  as  it  is  now  placed 
on  the  corpses  of  deceased  Christians,  and,  in  its  Sicastica  form  {croix 
crampoiuia  ),  on  the  hearts  of  tlie  Buddhist  adepts  and  Buddlias.  (See 
"Calvary  Cross".) 

Crux  Ansata  (Lnl.i.  Tlie  handled  erosN.  -f-  ;  whereas  the  iau  is  T. 
in  this  form,  and  the  oldest  Egyptian  cro.ss  or  the  tat  is  tlius  +.  The 
cruj  atisafa  was  the  symbol  of  immortality,  but  the  tat-cross  was  that  of 
spirit-matter  and  had  the  significauce  of  a  sexual  emblem.  The  crux 
(i)isat(i  was  the  foremost  symbol  in  the  Egj-ptian  I^Iasonry  instituted  by 
Count  Caglio.stro:  and  IMasons  must  have  indeed  forgotten  the  primitive 
signiticauce  of  their  highest  symbols,  if  some  of  their  autliorities  still 
insist  that  the  crux  ansata  is  only  a  comlTination  of  the  cteis  (or  yoni) 
and  phallus  (or  lingham).  Far  from  tiiis.  The  handle  or  ansa  had  a 
double  significance,  but  never  a  phallic  one;  as  an  attribute  of  Isis  it 
was  the  mundane  circle;  as  a  symbol  of  law  on  the  breast  of  a  mummy 
it  was  that  of  immortality,  of  an  endless  and  beginningless  eternity,  that 
which  descends  upon  and  grows  out  of  the  i)lane  of  material  nature,  the 
horizontal  feminine  line,  surmounting  the  vertical  male  line — the  fructi- 
fying male  principle  in  nature  or  spirit.  Without  the  handle  the  crux 
ansata  became  the  tan  T,  which,  left  by  itself,  is  an  androgyne  symbol, 
and  becomes  purely  i)iiallic  or  sexual  only  when  it  takes  the  shape  +• 

Crypt  (dr.).  A  secret  subterranean  vault,  some  for  the  purpose  of 
initiation,  others  for  burial  purposes.  There  were  crypts  under  every 
temple  in  antiquity.  There  was  one  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  lined  with 
red  stucco,  and  built  before  the  advent  of  the  Jews. 

Curetes.  The  Bi-iest-lnitiates  of  ancient  Crete,  in  the  service  of 
Cybele.  Initiation  in  their  temples  was  very  severe;  it  lasted  twenty- 
seven  days,  during  which  time  the  aspirant  was  left  by  him.self  in  a 
crypt,  undergoing  terrible  trials.  Pythagoras  was  initiated  into  these 
rites  and  came  out  victorious. 

Cutha.  An  ancient  city  in  Babylonia  after  which  a  tablet  giving  an 
account  of  "creation"  is  named.  The  "Cutha  tablet"  speaks  of  a  "tem- 
ple of  Sittam",  in  the  sanctuary  of  Nergal,  the  "giant  king  of  war,  lord 
of  the  city  of  Cutha",  and  is  purely  esoteric.  It  has  to  be  read  symbol- 
ically, if  at  all. 

Cycle.  From  the  (J reek  Iniklos.  The  ancients  divided  time  into  end- 
less cycles,  wheels  within  wheels,  all  sucii  periods  being  of  various  dur- 
ations, and  each  marking  the  beginning  or  the  end  of  some  event  either 


GLOSSARY  85 

cosmic,  niuiidanr.  pliysii-al  or  int-taphysical.  There  were  eycU-s  of  only 
u  few  years,  and  cycles  of  immense  duration,  the  pn-at  Orphic  cycle, 
referring  to  the  ethnological  change  of  races,  lasting  120,000  years,  and 
the  cycle  of  Cassandrus  of  136,000,  which  brought  about  a  complete 
change  in  planetary  inHuenecs  and  their  correlations  between  men  and 
gods — a  fact  entirely  lost  sight  of  by  modern  astrologers. 

Cynocephalus  (Gr.)..  The  Egyptian  llopl.  There  was  a  notable 
ditl'erence  between  the  ape-headed  gods  and  tlie  "Cynocephalus"  {Simi<i 
hamadryas) ,  a  dog-headed  baboon  from  upper  Kgypt.  The  latter,  whos«- 
sacred  city  was  Hermopolis,  was  sacred  to  the  lunar  deities  and  Thoth- 
Ilerraes,  hence  an  emblem  of  secret  wisdom — as  was  Ilanuman,  the 
monkey-god  of  India,  and  later,  the  elephant-headed  Ganesha.  The 
mission  of  the  Cynocephalus  was  to  show  the  way  for  the  Dead  to  the 
Seat  of  Judgment  and  Osiris,  whereas  the  ape-gods  were  all  phallic. 
They  are  almost  invariably  found  in  a  crouching  posture,  holding  on  one 
hand  the  outa  (the  eye  of  Horus),  and  in  the  other  the  sexual  cro.ss.  Isis 
is  seen  sometimes  riding  on  an  ape,  to  designate  the  fall  of  divine  nature 
into  generation. 


g6  THKOSOPJIICAL 


D. 

•L-'*  — Both  in  the  Enjjlish  and  Ilebivw  alphabets  tlie  fourth  letter, 
whose  numorioal  value  is  four.  The  symbolical  signification  in  the  Kah- 
hala  of  the  DaUth  is  "door".  It  is  the  Greek  A,  throufrh  which  the 
world  (whose  symbol  is  the  tetrad  or  muiiber  four,)  issued,  produeinj: 
the  divine  seven.  Tlie  name  of  the  Tetrad  was  Harmony  with  tlie  Pytha- 
goreans, "because  it  is  a  diatessaron  in  sesquitertia".  With  the  Kab- 
balists,  the  divine  name  associated  with  Daleth  was  Daghuul. 

Daath  (Hch.).  Knowledge;  "the  conjunction  of  Ciickmah  and 
Binah,  Wisdom  and  Understanding:  sometimes,  in  error,  called  a  Sephira. 
[w.w.w.] 

Dabar  (Heb.).  D  (a)  B  (a)  R  (im),  meaninjjr  tli.-  -Word",  and 
the  "Words"  in  the  Chaldean  Kabbala,  Dahar  and  Logoi.  (See  See. 
Doct.,  I.  p.  350,  and  "Logos",  or  "Word"). 

Dabistan  (I'rrs.).     The  land  of  Iran;  ancient  Persia. 

Dache-Dachus  Chald.).  The  dual  emanation  of  Moymis,  the  pro- 
geny of  tlie  dual  or  androgynous  World-Principle,  the  male  Apason 
and  female  Tauthe.  Like  all  theocratic  luitions  possessing  Temple  mys- 
teries, the  Babylonians  never  mentioned  the  "One"  Principle  of  the 
Universe,  nor  did  they  give  it  a  name.  This  made  Damascius  {Thco- 
gonies)  remark  that  like  the  rest  of  "barbarians"  the  Babylonians 
passed  it  over  in  silence.  Tauthe  was  the  mother  of  the  gods,  while 
Apason  was  her  self-generating  male  power,  Moymis,-  the  ideal  universe, 
being  her  only-begotten  son,  and  emanating  in  his  turn  Dache-Dachus,, 
and  at  last  Belus,  the  Demiurge  of  the  objective  Universe. 

Dactyli  (Gr.).  From  daktulos,  "a  finger".  The  name  given  to  the 
Phrygian  Ilierophants  of  Kybele,  who  were  regarded  as  the  greatest 
magicians  and  exorcists.  They  were  five  or  ten  in  number  because  of 
the  five  fingers  on  one  hand  that  blessed,  and  the  ten  on  both  hands 
which  evoke  the  gods.     They  also  healed  by  manipulation  or  mesmerism. 

Dadouchos  (Gr.).  The  torch-bearer,  one  of  the  four  celebrants 
in  the  Eleusinian  mysteries.  There  were  several  attached  to  the  temples 
but  they  appeared  in  public  only  at  the  Panathenaic  Games  at  Athens, 
to  preside  over  the  so-called  "torch-race".  (See  Mackenzie's  R.  M. 
Cijelopadia.) 

Daemon  (Gr.).  \n  the  original  Hermetic  works  and  ancient  classics 
it  has  a  meaning  identical  with  that  of  "god",  "angel"  or  "genius". 
The  Daemon  of  Socrates  is  the  incorruptible  part  of  the  man,  or  rather 
the  real  inner  man  which  we  call  Nous  or  the  rational  divine  Ego.  At  all 


GLOSSARY  87 

events  the  Dieinon  (or  Daimoii)  of  tlie  groat  Sage  was  surely  iioi  the 
demon  of  the  Christian  Hell  or  of  Christian  orthodox  theology.  The 
name  was  given  by  ancient  peoples,  and  especially  the  philosophers  of 
the  Alexandrian  school,  to  all  kinds  of  spirits,  whether  good  or  bad. 
human  or  otlierwise.  The  appellation  is  often  synonymous  with  that 
of  gods  or  angels.  But  some  philosophers  tried,  with  good  reason,  to 
make  a  just  distinction  between  the  many  classes. 

Daenam  (Pahlavi).  Lit.,  "Knowledge",  the  principle  of  under- 
standing in  man,  rational  Soul,  or  Manas,  according  to  the  Avesia. 

Dag,  Dagon  (Hch.).  "Fish"  and  also  "Messiah".  Dagon  was  the 
Chaldean  man-fish  Cannes,  the  mysterious  being  w^ho  arose  daily  out  of 
the  depths  of  the  sea  to  teach  peoph^  every  useful  science.  He  was  also 
called  Annedotus. 

Dagoba  (Sk.),  or  Stupa.  Lit:  a  sacred  mound  or  tower  for  Buddhist 
lioly  relics.  These  are  pyramidal-looking  mounds  scattered  all  over 
India  and  Buddhist  countries,  such  as  Ceylon,  Burmah,  Central  Asia, 
etc.  They  are  of  various  sizes,  and  generally  contain  some  small  relics 
oi  Saints  or  those  claimed  to  have  belonged  to  Gautama,  The  Buddha. 
As  the  human  body  is  supposed  to  consist  of  8-4,000  dhdtus  (organic  cells 
with  definite  vital  functions  in  them),  Asoka  is  said  for  this  reason  to 
have  built  84,000  dhdtu-gopas  or  Dagobas  in  honour  of  every  cell  of  the 
Buddha's  body,  each  of  which  has  now  become  a  dharmadhdtu  or  holy 
relic.  There  is  in  Ceylon  a  Dhatu-gopa  at  Anuradhapura,  said  to  date 
from  160  years  B.C.  They  are  now  built  pyramid-like,  but  the  primitive 
Dagobas  were  all  shaped  like  towers  with  a  cupola  and  several  tchhatra 
(umbrellas)  over  them.  Eitel  states  that  the  Chinese  Dagobas  have  all 
from  7  to  14  tchhatras  over  them,  a  number  which  is  symbolical  of  the 
human  body. 

Daitya  Gura  (Sk.).  The  instructor  of  the  giants,  ealUnl  Daitijas 
iq.v.)  Allegorically,  it  is  the  title  given  to  tlie  planet  Venus-Lucifer,  or 
rather  to  its  indwelling  Ruler,  Siikra,  a  male  deitv  (See  Sec.  Doct.,  ii.  p. 
30). 

Daityas  (Sk.).  Giants,  Titans,  and  exotericallij  demons,  but  in 
truth  identical  with  certain  Asuras,  the  intellectual  gods,  the  opponents 
of  the  useless  gods  of  ritualism  and  the  enemies  of  puja,  sacrifices. 

Daivi-prakriti  (Sk.).  Primordial,  homogeneous  light,  called  by 
some  Indian  Occultists  "the  Light  of  the  Logos"  (see  Notes  on  the 
Bhagavat  Gita,  by  T.  Subba  Row,  B.A.,  L.L.B.)  ;  when  differentiated 
this  light  becomes  Fohat. 

Dakini  (Sk.).  Female  demons,  vampires  and  blood-drinkers  (asra- 
pas).  In  the  Puranas  they  attend  upon  the  goddess  Kali  and  feed  on 
human  flesh.    A  species  of  evil  "Elementals"  {q.v.). 

Daksha  (Sk.).  A  form  of  Brahma,  and  his  son  in  the  Puranas. 
But  the  Rig  Veda  states  that  "Daksha  sprang  from  Aditi,  and  Aditi 
from  Daksha",  which  proves  him  to  be  a  personified  correlating  Creative 


88  TllKoSol'JlICAI. 

Forco  actiiij":  on  all  tlu  phuus.  Tlif  OriiMitalists  sct-m  very  much  per- 
plcxt'ti  what  to  make  of  him;  but  Koth  is  nearer  the  trutli  than  any, 
when  sayinfr  that  Daksha  is  the  spiritual  power,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  mah'  enerjry  that  jjenerates  the  pods  in  eternity,  whieli  is  represented 
by  Aditi.  Puranas,  as  a  matter  of  course.  anthroi)omorphizi'  tlie  idea, 
and  show  l^aksha  instituting?  "sexual  intereourse  on  this  eartli",  after 
tryinjr  t-very  means  of  proerealion.  The  ^renerative  Foree.  spiritual  at 
the  eouHneneement.  heeomes  of  eourse  at  the  most  material  end  of  its 
evolution  a  proereative  Foree  on  the  i)hysieal  plane;  and  so  far  the 
Puranie  allegory  is  correct,  as  the  Secret  Science  teaches  that  our  present 
mode  of  procreation  bepran  towards  the  end  of  the  third  Root-Race. 

Dalada  (Sk.).  A  v.ry  precious  relic  of  Gautama  the  Buddha;  viz., 
his  supposed  left  canine  tooth  preserved  at  the  prreat  temple  at  Kandy, 
Ceylon.  Unfortunately,  the  relic  shown  is  not  genuine.  The  latter  has 
been  securely  secreted  for  sevi-ral  hundred  years,  ever  since  the  shameful 
and  big:oted  attempt  by  the  Portu<]riiese  (the  then  rtilinpr  power  in  Cey- 
lon) to  steal  and  make  away  with  the  real  relic.  That  wliich  is  shown 
in  the  place  of  the  real  thinpr  is  the  monstrous  tooth  of  some  animal. 

Dama  (Sk.).     Restraint  of  the  senses. 

Dambulla  (S/,-.).  The  name  of  a  hujre  rock  in  Ceylon.  It  is  about 
400  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Its  upper  portion  is  excavated,  and 
.several  lar«re  cave-temples,  or  Viharas,  are  cut  out  of  the  solid  rock,  all 
of  these  beinp:  of  pre-Christian  date.  They  are  consid(>red  as  the  best- 
preserved  antiquities  in  the  island.  The  North  side  of  the  rock  is  vertical 
and  quite  inaccessible,  but  on  the  South  side,  about  150  feet  from  its 
summit,  its  hufje  overhanging  granite  mass  has  been  fashioned  into  a 
platform  with  a  row  of  large  cave-temples  excavated  in  the  surrounding 
walKs — evidently  at  an  enormous  sacrifice  of  labor  and  money.  Two 
Viharas  may  be  mentioned  out  of  the  many:  the  Maha  Raja  Vikara, 
172  ft.  in  length  and  75  in  breadth,  in  which  there  are  upwards  of  fifty 
figures  of  Buddha,  most  of  them  larger  than  life  and  all  formed  from  the 
solid  rock.  A  well  has  been  dug  out  at  the  foot  of  the  central  Dagoba, 
and  from  a  fi.ssure  in  the  rock  there  constantly  drips  into  it  beautiful 
clear  water  which  is  kept  for  sacred  purposes.  In  the  other,  the  Maha 
Dfwvjo  Vihara,  there  is  to  be  seen  a  gigantic  figure  of  the  dead  Gautama 
Buddha,  47  feet  long,  reclining  on  a  couch  and  pillow  cut  out  of  solid 
rock  like  the  rest.  "This  long,  narrow  and  dark  temple,  the  position 
and  placid  aspect  of  Buddha,  together  with  the  stillness  of  the  place, 
tend  to  impress  the  beholder  with  the  idea  that  he  is  in  the  chamber  of 
death.  The  priest  asserts  .  .  .  that  such  was  Buddha,  and  such 
were  those  (at  his  feet  stands  an  attendant)  who  witnessed  the  last 
moments  of  his  mortality"  (Hardy's  East.  Monachism).  The  view  from 
Dambulla  is  magnificent.  On  the  large  rock  platform  which  seems  to 
be  now  more  visited  by  very  intelligent  tame  white  monkeys  than  by 
monks,  there  stands  a  huge  Bo-Tree.  one  of  the  numerous  scions  from 
the  original  Bo-Tree  under  wliich  the  Lord  Siddhartha  reached  Nirvana. 


GLOSSART  39 

"About  50  ft.  from  the  summit  there  is  a  pond  which,  as  the  priests 

assert,  is  never  without  water."  {The  Ceylon  Almanac,  \S'3-i.) 

Dammapadan  (I'dli.).     A  Buddhist  work  eontaiuingr  moral  precepts. 

Dana  (Sk\).  A\msg\\in<r  to  mendicants,  lit.,  "charity",  the  first 
of  the  six  Paramitas  in  Buddhism. 

Danavas  (Sk.).  Almost  the  same  as  Daififas;  jjiants  and  demons. 
Tilt'  ()[)i)on('nts  of  the  ritualistic  {jods. 

Dangma  (Sk.).  In  P^sotericism  a  i)urified  .Soul.  A  Seer  and  an 
Initiate;  one  who  has  attained  full  wisdom. 

Daos  (Chald.).  The  seventh  Kinjr  (Shepherd)  of  the  divine  Dy- 
nasty, who  reigned  over  the  Babylonians  for  the  space  of  ten  sari,  or 
36,000  years,  a  saros  being  of  3,600  years'  duration.  In  his  time  four 
Annedoti,  or  ^len-fishes  (Dagons)  made  their  appearance. 

Darasta  (Sk.).  Ceremonial  magic  practi.sed  by  the  central  Indian 
trilxs.  especially  among  the  Kolarians. 

Dardanus  (Gr.).  The  Son  of  Jupiter  and  F^lectrrt.  wlio  received 
the  Kabeiri  gods  as  a  dowry,  and  took  them  to  Samothrace.  where  they 
were  worshipped  long  before  the  hero  laid  the  foundations  of  Troy,  and 
before  Tyre  and  Sidon  were  ever  heard  of,  though  Tyre  was  built  2,760 
years  n.c.    (See  for  fuller  details  "Kabiri".) 

Darha  (Sk.).     The  ancestral  spirits  of  the  Kolarians. 

Darsanas  (Sk.).  The  Schools  of  Indian  philosophy,  of  whicli  there 
are  six  ;  Shad-darsanas  or  .six  demonstrations. 

Dasa-sil  (Pali.).  The  ten  obligations  or  commandments  taken  by 
and  binding  upon  the  priests  of  Buddha  ;  the  five  obligations  or  Pansil 
are  taken  by  laymen. 

Dava  (Tih.).     Tlie  moon,  in  Til)etan  astrology. 

Davkina  (Chald.).  The  wife  of  Ilea,  "the  goddess  of  the  lower 
i-egions,  the  consort  of  the  Deep",  the  mother  of  Merodach,  the  Bel  of 
later  times,  and  mother  to  many  river-gods,  Hea  being  the  god  of  the 
lower  regions,  the  "lord  of  the  Sea  or  abyss",  and  also  the  lord  of 
Wisdom. 

Dayanisi  (Aram.).  The  god  worshipped  by  the  Jews  along  with 
other  Semites,  as  the  "Ruler  of  men";  Dionysos — the  Sun;  whence 
Jehovah-Nissi,  or  lao-Nisi,  tiie  same  as  Dio-nysos  or  Jove  of  Nys.sa.  (Sep 
Isis  Unveil.  II.  526), 

Day  of  Brahma.  See  "Brahma's  Day"  etc. 

Dayus  or  Di/aiis  (Sk.).  A  Vedic  term.  The  unrevealed  Deity,  or 
that  which  reveals  Itself  only  as  light  and  the  bright  dav — metaphoric- 
ally. 

Death,  Kiss  of.  According  to  the  Kabl)alah.  the  earnest  follower 
does  not  die  by  the  power  of  the  Evil  Spirit.  Yetzer  ha  Rah.  but  by  a  kiss 
from  tlie  moutli  of  Jehovah  Tetragrammaton,  meeting  him  in  the  Haikal 
Ahabah  or  Palace  of  Love,  [w.w.w.] 


90  TiiEosurincAL 

Dei  termini  (Lat.).  Tlie  iiainr  for  pillars  with  Imniaii  heads  irp- 
rfstiitin^r  Iltriiios.  plai'cd  at  iToss-roads  by  the  ancient  Greeks  and 
Kouians.  Also  the  <;eneral  name  for  deities  ])resi(iiii«,'  over  boundaries 
and  frontiers. 

Deist.  One  who  admits  the  existenee  of  a  fjod  or  pods  but  claims 
to  know  nothinpf  of  either  and  denies  revelation.  A  Freethinker  of  olden 
times. 

Demerit.  In  Occult  and  Huddhistic  i)arlance.  a  constituent  of 
Karma.  It  is  through  avidifu  or  ifjnorancc  of  vidya,  divine  illumination, 
that  merit  and  demerit  are  produced.  Once  an  Arhat  obtains  full  il- 
lumination and  perfect  control  over  his  personality  and  lower  nature, 
he  ceases  to  create  "merit  and  demerit". 

Demeter.  The  Hellenic  name  for  the  Latin  Ceres,  the  jroddess  of 
corn  and  tillajje.  The  astronomical  siprn,  Virgo.  The  Eleusinian  I^Iys- 
teries  were  celebrated  in  her  honour. 

Demiurgic  Mind.  The  same  as  "Universal  ^lind".  Mahat,  th> 
first  "prdduct"  of  Brahma,  or  himself. 

Demiurgos  (Gr.).  The  Demiurge  or  Artificer;  the  Sepernal  Power 
whicli  built  the  universe.  Freemason.s  derive  from  this  word  their 
phra.se  of  "Supreme  Architect".  With  the  Occulti.sts  it  is  the  third 
manifested  Logos,  or  Plato's  ^'second  god",  the  second  logos  being  repre- 
sented by  him  as  the  "Father",  the  only  Deity  that  he  dared  mention 
as  an  Initiate  into  the  Mysteries. 

Demon    est    Deus    Inversus    (Lut.).      A     Kabbalistic     axiom;     lit., 

"the  devil  is  n-od  reversed";  which  means  that  there  is  neither  evil  noi* 
good,  but  that  the  forces  which  create  the  one  create  the  other,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  materials  they  find  to  work  upon. 

Demonologia  (Or.).  Ti-eatises  or  Discourses  u])()n  Demons,  or 
Gods  in  their  dark  aspects. 

Demons.  According  to  the  Kabbalah,  tlie  demons  dwell  in  the 
world  of  A.s.siah,  the  world  of  matter  and  of  the  ".shells"  of  the  dead. 
They  are  the  Klippoth.  There  are  Seven  Hells,  whose  demon  dwellers 
represent  the  vices  personified.  Their  prince  is  Samael,  his  female  com- 
panion is  Isheth  Zenunim — the  woman  of  prostitution :  united  in  aspect, 
they  are  named  "The  Beast",  Chiva.   [w.w.w.] 

Demrusch  (F(rs.).     A  Giant  in  the  mytliology  of  ancient  Iran. 

Denis,  Anfjoras.  "A  phvsician  of  Paris,  astrologer  and  alchemist  in 
the  XlVth  century"  (R.M.'C). 

Deona  Mati.     In  the  Kolarian  dialect,  one  who  exerci.ses  evil  spirits. 

Dervish.  A  .Mussulman — Turkish  or  Persian — ascetic.  A  nomadic 
and  wandering  monk.  Dervishes,  however,  sometimes  live  in  communi- 
ties. They  are  often  called  the  "whirling  charmers".  Apart  from  his 
au.sterities  of  life,  prayer  and  contemplation,  the  Turkish,  Egyptian,  or 
Arabic  devotee  presents  but  little  .similarity  with  the  Hindu  fakir,  who  is 


GLOSSARY  91 

also  a  Mussulman.  Tiie  latter  may  become  a  saint  and  holy  mendicant ; 
the  former  will  never  reach  beyond  his  second  class  of  occult  manifesta- 
tions. The  dervish  may  also  be  a  strong  mesmerizer,  but  he  will  never 
voluntarily  submit  to  the  abominable  and  almost  incredible  self-punish- 
ment which  the  fakir  invents  for  himself  with  an  ever-increasing  avidity, 
until  nature  succumbs  and  he  dies  in  slow  and  excruciating  tortures. 
The  most  dreadful  operations,  such  as  flaying  the  limbs  alive;  cutting 
off  the  toes,  feet,  and  legs;  tearing  out  the  eyes;  and  causing  one's  self 
to  be  buried  alive  up  to  the  chin  in  the  earth,  and  passing  whole  months 
in  this  posture,  seem  child's  play  to  them.  The  Dervish  must  not  be 
confused  with  the  Hindu  sanydsi  or  yogi.    (See  "Fakir".) 

Desatir.  A  very  ancient  Persian  work  called  the  Book  of  Shct.  It 
speaks  of  the  thirteen  Zoroasters,  and  is  very  mystical. 

Deva  (Sk.).  A  god,  a  "resplendent"  deity.  Deva-Deus,  from  the 
root  div  "to  shine".  A  Deva  is  a  celestial  being — whether  good,  bad, 
or  indifferent.  Devas  inhabit  "the  three  worlds",  which  are  the  three 
planes  above  us.    There  are  33  groups  or  330  millions  of  them. 

Deva  Sarga  (Sk.).  Creation:  the  origin  of  the  principles,  said 
to  be  Intelligence  born  of  the  qualities  or  the  attributes  of  nature. 

Devachan  (Sk.).  The  "dwelling  of  the  gods".  A  state  inter- 
mediate between  two  earth-lives,  into  which  the  Ego  (Atma-Buddhi- 
Manas,  or  the  Trinity  made  One)  enters,  after  its  separation  from  Kama 
Rupa,  and  the  disintegration  of  the  lower  principles  on  earth. 

Devajnanas  (Sk.).  or  Daivajna.  The  higher  classes  of  celestial 
beings,  those  who  possess  divine  knowledge. 

Devaki  (Sk.).  The  mother  of  Krishna.  She  was  shut  up  in  a 
dungeon  by  her  brother.  King  Kansa,  for  fear  of  the  fulfilment  of  a 
prophecy  which  stated  that  a  son  of  his  sister  should  dethrone  and  kill 
him.  Notwithstanding  the  strict  watch  kept,  Devaki  was  overshadowed 
by  Vishnu,  the  holv  Spirit,  and  thus  gave  birth  to  that  god's  avatara, 
Krishna.     (See  "Kansa"). 

Deva-laya  (Sk.).  "The  shrine  of  a  Deva".  The  name  given  to 
all  Brahamanical  temples. 

Deva-lokas  (Sk.).  The  abodes  of  the  Gods  or  Devas  in  superior 
spheres.    The  seven  celestial  worlds  above  Meru. 

Devamatri  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  mother  of  the  gods".  A  title  of 
Aditi,  Mystic  Space. 

Devanagari  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  language  or  letters  of  the  devas''  or 
gods.  The  characters  of  the  Sanskrit  language.  The  alphabet  and 
the  art  of  writing  were  kept  secret  for  ages,  as  the  Dwijas  (Twice-born) 
and  the  Dikshitas  (Initiates)  alone  were  permitted  to  use  this  art.  It  was 
a  crime  for  a  Sudra  to  recite  a  verse  of  the  Vcdas,  and  for  any  of  the 
two  lower  castes  (Vaisya  and  Sudra)  to  know  the  letters  was  an  offense 
punishable  by  death.  Therefore  is  tiie  word  lipi,  "writing",  absent 
from  the   oldest  MSS..   a   fact   which   jrave   tlie   Orientalists  the   erro- 


92  THEOSoriiu'.vi. 

neous  and  rather  iiiconf^ruous  idea  that   irriti)Uf  was  not  only  unknown 
hefore   the   day   of  Panini,   but    t-vi-n    to   that   sapre    himself!     That   the 
greatest  grammarian  the  workl  luis  ever  jirodueed  shouhl  l)e  ignorant  of 
writing  wouhl  indeed  he  the  greatest   and  most  ine()ini)reheiisihh'   j)lie 
nomenon  of  all. 

Devapi  (Sk.).  A  Sanskrit  Sage  of  tlie  race  of  Kuru,  who,  together 
with  another  Sage  (^Nloru).  is  supposed  to  live  throughout  the  four  ages 
and  until  the  eoming  of  Maitrcifd  Buddha,  or  Kidhi  (the  last  Avatar  of 
Vishnu)  ;  who.  Ukc  all  the  i<aviuurs  of  the  ^yorld  in  their  last  appearance, 
like  Sosiosh  of  the  Zoroastrians  and  the  liidcr  of  St.  John's  Rt  v(latioi\, 
will  appear  .seated  on  a  Whiir  Ilorst .  The  two.  Devapi  and  Morn,  are 
supposed  to  live  in  a  Himalayan  n'treat  called  Kalapa  or  Katapa.  This 
is  a  Puranic  allegory. 

Devarshis,  or  D<i'a-rishi  (Six.).  Lit.,  "gods  rishis";  the  divine 
or  god!  ike  .saints,  tho.se  sages  who  attain  a  fully  divine  nature  on  earth. 

Devasarman  (Sk.).  A  very  aneient  author  who  died  about  a 
century  after  Gautama  Buddha.  He  wrote  two  famous  works,  in  which 
he  denied  the  e.xistence  of  both  Ego  and  non-E<jo,  the  one  as  successfully 
as  the  other. 

Dharana  (Sk.).  That  state  in  Yoga  practice  wlieti  tlie  mind  has 
to  be  fi.xed  untlinchingly  on  .some  object  of  meditation. 

Dharani  (Sk.).  In  Buddhism — both  Southern  and  Northern — and 
also  in  Hinduism,  it  means  simply  a  mantra  or  mantras — sacred  verses 
from  the  Ivifj  V(da.  In  days  of  old  these  mantras  or  J)harani  were 
all  considered  mystical  and  practically  et^cacious  in  their  use.  At  pres- 
ent, however,  it  is  the  Yogacharya  school  alone  which  proves  the  claim  in 
practice.  When  chanted  according  to  given  instructions  a  Dharani 
produces  wonderful  eifects.  Its  occult  power,  however,  does  not  reside 
in  the  words  but  in  the  inflexion  or  accent  given  and  the  resulting  sound 
originated  thereby.     (See  "Mantra"  and  "Akasa"). 

Dharma  (Sk.).    The  .sacred  Law;  the  Buddhi.st  Canon. 

Dharmachakra  (Sk.).  Lit.,  The  turning  of  the  "wheel  of  the  Law". 
The  emblem  of  Buddhism  as  a  system  of  cycles  and  rebirths  or  reincar- 
nations. 

Dharmakaya  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  glorified  si)iritual  body"  called 
tlie  "Vesture  of  Bliss".  The  third,  or  highest  of  the  Trikdya  (Three 
Bodies),  the  attribute  developed  by  every  "Buddlia",  i.e.,  every  initiate 
who  has  cro.s.sed  or  reached  the  end  of  what  is  called  the  "fourth  Path" 
(in  esoterici.sm  the  sixth  "portal"  prior  to  his  entry  on  the  scvrnth) . 
The  highest  of  the  Trikaija,  it  is  the  fourth  of  the  Buddhakchetra,  or 
Buddhic  planes  of  consciousness,  represented  figuratively  in  Buddhist 
asceticism  as  a  robe  or  vesture  of  luminous  Spirituality.  In  popular 
Northern  Buddhism  these  vestures  or  robi s  are:  (1)  Nirmanakaya,  (2) 
Sambhogakaya,  (3)  and  Dharmakaya,  the  last  being  the  highest  and 
most  snl)limated  of  all.  as  it  ])laces  the  ascetic  on  the  threshold  of  Nir- 


nLOSSARY  93 

vana.     (See,  however,  the  Voice  of  the  Silence,  page  96.  Glossarif,  for  tin- 
true  <  sotrriv  ineaiiinj]:. 

Dharmaprabhasa  (Sk.).  Tlie  name  of  the  Buddlia  who  will  api)ear 
(liirinp:  the  seventh  Root-race.       (See  " Ratuavabhasa  Kalpa",  when  sexes 

will  exist  no  lonjrerV 

Dharmasmriti  Upasthana  (Sk.).  A  very  long  compound  word  con- 
taining a  very  mystical  wai-ning.  "Remember,  the  constituents  (of 
human  nature)  originate  accordiiKj  to  the  Nidanas,  aiul  an  not 
originally  the  Self",  which  means — that,  which  the  Esoteric  Schools 
teach,  and  not  the  ecclesiastical  interpretation. 

Dharmasoka  (Sk.).  The  name  given  to  the  tirst  Asoka  after  his 
conversion  to  Buddhism, — King  Chandragupta.  who  served  all  his  long 
life  "Dharma",  or  the  law  of  Buddha.  King  Asoka  (the  .second)  was 
not  converted,  but  was  born  a  Buddhist. 

DhatU  (Pali.).  Relics  of  Buddlui's  hodv  collrcted  aftt-r  his  crema- 
tion. 

Dhruva  (Sk.).  An  Aryan  Sage,  now  the  Pole  Stai-.  A  Kshutriija 
(one  of  the  w'arrior  caste)  who  became  through  religious  austerities  a 
Rishi,  and  was,  for  this  reason,  raised  by  Vishnu  to  this  eminence  in  the 
skies.    Also  called  Grah-Adhar  or  "the  pivot  of  the  planets". 

Dhyan  Chohans  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "The  Lords  of  Light".  The  high- 
est gods,  ajiswering  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Archangels.  The  divine 
rntelligenccs  charged  with  the  supervision  of  Kosmos. 

Dhyana  (Sk.).  In  Buddhism  one  of  the  six  Paramitas  of  i)»'r- 
fection,  a  state  of  abstraction  which  carries  the  ascetic  practising  it  far 
above  this  plane  of  sensuous  perception  and  out  of  the  world  of  matter. 
Lit.,  "contemplation".  The  six  stages  of  Dhyan  differ  only  in  the 
degrees  of  abstraction  of  the  })ersonal  Ego  from  sensuous  life. 

Dhyani  Bodhisattvas  (Sk.).  In  Buddhism,  the  five  sons  of  the 
Dhyani-Buddhas.     They  have  a  mystic  meaning  in  E.soteric  Philosophy. 

Dhyani  Buddhas  (Sk.).  They  "of  the  ^Merciful  Heart":  worship])ed 
especially  in  X(  paul.     These  have  again  a  secret  meaning. 

Dhyani  Pasa  (Sk.).  "The  rope  of  the  Dhvanis"  or  Spirits:  the 
Ring  "Pass  not"  (See  Stc.  Doct.,  Stanza  V.,  Vol.  L.  p.  129). 

Diakka.  ("ailed  by  Occultists  and  Theosophists  "spooks"  and 
"shells",  i.e.,  phantoms  from  Kama  Loka.  A  word  invented  by  the 
great  American  Seer,  Andrew  Jackson  Davis,  to  clenote  what  he  con- 
siders untrustworthy  "Spirits".  In  his  own  words:  "A  Diakka  (from 
the  Summerland)  is  one  who  takes  insane  delight  in  plaijing  part  a,  in 
.juggling  trickf!,  in  pcrsonatinej  opposite  characters;  to  whom  prayer  and 
profane  utterances  are  of  equi-value;  surcharged  with  a  passion  for 
lyrical  narrations;  .  .  .  morally  deficient,  he  is  without  the  active 
feelings  of  justice,  philanthropy,  or  tender  affection.  He  knows  nothing 
of  what  men  call  the  sentiiuiMit  of  gratitude  ;  the  ends  of  hate  and  love 


94  TIIEaSOPIII(   VL 

an'  tlu'  saint'  to  him;  liis  motto  is  often  frarful  and  tiTrihlf  to  otliers — 
SELF  is  the  whole  of  private  livin};,  and  exalted  annihilation  ttu  end  of 
all  private  lift .  Only  yesterday,  one  said  to  a  lady  medium,  sipninp 
himself  Su'<  il(  )ihor;f,  this:  'Whatsoever  is,  has  been,  will  he,  or  may  be. 
that  1  AM  ;  and  private  life  is  but  the  aj^^^'re^ative  jthantasms  of  thinkinf; 
fhrol)Iets.  rushin<r  in  their  risin<;  onward  to  the  central  heart  of  eternal 
death"!"  {'J'hi  IHdhkii  atul  tlu  ir  Viclinis;  "an  explanation  of  the  False 
and  Ke|>ulsive  in  Spiritualism.")  These  "Diakka"  are  then  simply  the 
eonunuiueatinjr  and  materiali/.injr  so-ealled  "Spirits"  of  Mediums  and 
Spiritualists. 

Dianoia  ((ir.).  The  same  as  the  Lofjos.  Tlic  eternal  source  of 
thttu^'iit,  "divine  ideation",  which  is  the  root  of  all  thoujiht.  (See 
"  Ennoia"). 

Dido,  or  Elissa.  Astarte  ;  the  Virprin  of  the  Sea  -  who  erushos  the 
hra^'on  under  her  foot.  The  patroness  of  the  Phu'nieian  mariners.  A 
<^ueen  of  C'arthajre  who  fell  in  love  with  ^neas  according  to  Virgil. 

Digambara  (Sk.).  A  naked  mendicant.  Lit.,  "clothed  with  Space". 
.\   naiiir  Liiv.  II  to  Siva  in  his  character  of  Kudra,  the  Yo<ri. 

Dii  Minores  (Lot.).  The  inferior  or  "reflected"  group  of  the 
"twelve  gods""  or  Dii  Miijons,  described  by  Cicero  in  his  Dr  Xaturn 
Drorum,  I.  18. 

Dik  (Sk.).     Space,  Vacuity. 

Diktamnon  (Gr.),  or  Dictamnus  ( Dittdin/).  A  cui-ious  iilanti>os- 
stssing  vfi'\-  (tecult  and  mystical  projx'rties  and  well-known  from 
ancient  times.  It  was  sacred  to  the  ]\Ioon-Goddcsses,  Luna.  Astarte, 
Diana.  The  Cretan  name  of  Diana  was  Diktynna,  and  as  such  the  god- 
dess wore  a  wreath  made  of  this  magic  plant.  The  Diktamnon  is  an 
evergreen  shrub  whose  contact,  as  claimed  in  Occultism,  develops  and 
at  the  same  time  cures  somnambulism.  ]\Iixed  with  Verbena  it  will  pro- 
duce clairvoyance  and  ecstasy.  Pharmacy  attributes  to  the  Diktamnon 
strongly  .sedative  and  quieting  properties.  It  grows  in  abundance  on 
Mount  Dictc,  in  Crete,  and  enters  into  many  nuKjical  performances  re- 
sortrd  to  b}-  the  Cretans  even  to  this  day. 

Diksha  (Sk.).     Initiation.     Dikshit,  an   Initiate. 

Dingir  and  Mul-lil  (Akkad.).     The  Creative  Gods. 

Dinur  (Uih.).  The  River  of  Fire  whose  flame  burns  the  Soul  of 
the  guilty  in  the  Kabbalistic  allegory. 

Dionysos  (Sk.).  The  Demiurgos.  who.  like  Osiris,  was  killed  by 
the  Titans  and  dismembered  into  fourteen  parts.  He  was  the  personitied 
Sun,  or  as  the  author  of  the  Great  Dionijsiak  Myth  says  "He  is  Phanes. 
the  spirit  of  material  visibility,  Kyklops  giant  of  the  Universe,  with  one 
bright  solar  eye,  the  growth-power  of  the  world,  the  all-pervading  anim- 
ism of  things,  son  of  Semele "'  Dionysos  was  born  at  Nysa  or 

Ni.ssi,  the  name  given  by  the  Hebrews  to  Mount  Sinai  (Exodus  xvii.  15), 


GLOSSARY  95 

tlie  birtlijilace  of  Osiris,  whicli  identifies  botli  suspiciously  witli    'Jehovah 
Nissi".     (See  Isis.  Unv.  II.  165,  526). 

Dioscuri  (dr.).  The  name  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  the  sons  of  Jupi- 
ter and  Leda.  Tlieir  festival,  the  Dioscuria,  was  celebrated  with  much  re- 
joicinf?  by  the  Lacedaemonians. 

Dipamkara  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "\\u'  Buddha  of  fixed  lifrht";  a  |»redpces- 
sor  of  Gautama,  the  Buddha. 

Diploteratology  ((it-.).  Produetion  of  mixed  Monsters;  in  altltnvia- 
tion  teratoUjy. 

Dis  (Gr.).  In  tlie  Thcofroiiy  of  Damaseius.  the  same  as  J'rotoffoiios,  t]\<- 
"first  born  light",  called  by  tliat  author  "the  disposer  of  all  thinjrs". 

Dises  (Scand.).  The  later  nanif  for  the  divine  women  called  Walk\- 
ries,  Xorns,  etc.,  in  the  Edda. 

Disk-worshij).  This  was  very  eominon  in  Ejryi)t  but  not  till  later 
times,  as  it  began  with  Amenoph  III.,  a  Dravidian.  who  brought  it  from 
Soutiiern  India  and  Ceylon.  It  was  Sun-worship  under  another  form, 
the  Aten-Ncphru,  Aten-Ra  being  identical  with  the  Adonai  of  the  Jews. 
the  "Lord  of  Heaven"  or  the  Sun.  The  winged  disk  was  the  emblem 
of  the  Soul.  The  Sun  was  at  one  time  the  symbol  of  Universal  Deity 
shining  on  the  whole  world  and  all  creatures;  tlie  Sabteans  regarded  the 
Sun  as  the  Demiurge  and  a  Universal  Deity,  as  did  also  tiie  Hindus,  and 
as  do  the  Zoroastrians  to  this  day.  The  Sun  is  undeniably  the  one 
creator  of  physical  nature,  Lenormant  was  obliged,  notwithstanding 
his  orthodox  Christianity,  to  denounce  the  resemblance  between  disk  and 
Jewish  worship.  "Ateu  represents  the  Adona'i  or  Lord,  the  Assyrian 
Tammuz,  and  the  Syrian  Adonis.     .     .     ."     {The  Gr.  Dionys.  Myth.) 

Divyachakchus  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "celestial  Eye"  or  divme  seeing,  per- 
ception. It  is  the  first  of  the  six  "Abhijnas"  (q.v.);  the  faculty  de- 
veloped by  Yoga  practice  to  perceive  any  object  in  the  Universe,  at 
whatever  distance. 

Divyasrotra  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "cele.stial  Ear"  or  divine  iiearing.  The 
second  "Abhijna",  or  the  faculty  of  understanding  the  language  or 
sound  produced  by  any  living  being  on  Earth. 

Djati  (Sk.).  One  of  the  twelve  "Nidanas"  (q.v.);  the  cause  and 
the  effect  in  the  mode  of  birth  taking  place  according  to  the  "Chatur 
Yoni"  (q.v.),  when  in  each  case  a  being,  whether  man  or  animal,  is 
placed  in  one  of  the  six  (esoteric  seven)  Gdti  or  paths  of  sentient  exist- 
ence, which  esoterically,  counting  downward,  are  :  (1)  the  highest  Dhyani 
(Anupadaka);  (2)  Devas;  (3)  Men;  (4)  Elementals  or  Nature  Spirits; 
(5)  Animals;  (6)  lower  Elementals;  (7)  organic  Germ.s.  There  are  in  the 
popular  or  exoteric  nomenclature,  Devas,  Men,  Asuras,  Beings  in  Hells. 
Pretas  (hungry  demons),  and  Animals. 

Djin  (Aral).).  P^lementals;  Nature  Spirits;  Genii.  The  Djin^  or 
■Jins  are  much  dreaded  in  Egypt,  Persia  and  elsewhere. 


96  THKOSOPHRAL 

Djnana  (Skj.  or  J  nana.  Lit.,  KnowUcl^e ;  I'sott'rically,  "suptT- 
nal  or  divine  knowledge  acquired  by  Yoga",    Written  also  Gnyana. 

Docetae  (Gr.).  Lit.,  "The  Illusionists".  The  luune  given  by  ortiiodox 
Clii-istians  to  those  Gnosties  who  lit-ld  tliat  Christ  did  not,  nor  eoiild  he. 
suffer  death  aetually.  but  that,  if  such  a  thing  had  happened,  it  was 
incrt'ly  an  illusion  which  they  explained  in  various  ways. 

Dodecahedron  (Gr.).  According  to  IMato.  the  Universe  is  built 
by  "the  tirst  begotten"  on  the  geometrical  figure  of  the  Dodecahedron. 
(See  Timmis). 

Dodona  (Gr.).  An  ancient  city  in  Thessaly,  famous  for  its  Tem- 
ple of  Jupiter  and  its  oracles.  According  to  ancient  legends,  the  to\^'Ti 
was  founded  by  a  dove. 

Donar  (Scanrl.),  or  Thunar,  Thar.  In  the  North  the  God  of  Thun- 
der, lie  was  the  Jupiter  Tonans  of  Scandinavia.  Like  as  the  oak  was 
devoted  to  Jupiter  so  was  it  sacred  to  Thor,  and  his  altars  were  over- 
shadowed with  oak  trees.  Thor,  or  Donar,  was  the  offspring  of  Odin, 
"the  omnipotent  God  of  Heaven'',  and  of  ^Mother  Eartli. 

Dondam-pai-den-pa  (Tib.).  The  same  as  the  Sanskrit  term  Para- 
iiKirthasatjjd  or  "absolute  truth",  the  highest  spiritual  self-con- 
sciousness and  perception,  divine  self-consciousness,  a  very  mystical 
term. 

Doppelganger  ((Urm.).  A  synonym  of  the  "Double"  and  of  the 
'Astral  body"  in  occult  parlance. 

Dorjesempa  (Tih.).  The  "Diamond  Soid",  a  name  of  the  celestial 
lUidilha. 

Dorjeshang  (Tib.).  A  title  of  Buddha  in  liis  highest  as])eet ;  a  luune 
<>r  the  siipi-euie  Buddha;  also  Dorje. 

Double.     The  same  as  the  "Astral  body*'  or  "Doppelganger". 

Double  Image.  The  name  among  the  Jewish  Kabbalists  for  the 
Dual  Ego,  called  respectively:  the  Higher,  Metatron,  and  the  Lower, 
Samael.  They  are  figured  allegorically  as  the  two  inseparable  compan- 
ions of  man  through  life,  the  one  his  Guardian  Angel,  the  other  his  Evil 
Demon. 

Dracontia  (Gr.).  Temples  dedicated  to  the  Dragon,  tiie  emblem 
of  tile  Sun,  tile  symbol  of  Deity,  of  Life  and  Wisdom.  The  Egyptian 
Karnac,  the  Carnac  in  Britanny,  and  Stonehenge  are  Dracontia  well 

known  to  all. 

Drakon  (Gr.).  or  JJranon.  Now  considered  a  "mythical"  monster, 
]»erpetuated  in  the  West  only  on  seals,  etc.,  as  a  heraldic  griffin,  and  the 
Devil  slain  by  St.  George,  etc.  In  fact  an  extinct  antediluvian  mon.ster. 
In  Babylonian  antiquities  it  is  referred  to  as  the  "scaly  one"  and  con- 
nected on  many  gems  with  Tiamat  the  sea.  "The  Dragon  of  the  Sea" 
is  repeatedly  mentioned.  In  Egypt,  it  is  the  star  of  the  Dragon  (then 
the  North  Pole  Star),  the  origin  of  the  connection  of  almost  all  the  gods 


GLOSSARY  97 

with  the  Dragon.  Bel  and  the  Dragon,  Apollo  and  Python,  Osiris  and 
Typhon,  Sigur  and  Fafnir,  and  finally  St.  George  and  the  Dragon,  are 
the  same.  They  were  all  solar  gods,  and  wherever  we  find  the  Sun  there 
also  is  the  Dragon,  the  symbol  of  Wisdom — Thoth-IIermes.  The  Hiero- 
phants  of  Egypt  and  of  Bal)ylon  styled  tliemselves  "Sons  of  the  St-rpcnt- 
God"  and  the  "Sons  of  tlie  Dragon".  "I  am  the  Serpent,  1  am  a 
Druid",  said  the  Druid  of  the  Celto-Britannic  regions,  for  the  Serpent 
and  the  Dragon  were  botii  types  of  Wisdom,  Immortality  and  Rebirth. 
As  the  serpent  casts  its  old  skin  only  to  reappear  in  a  new  one,  so  does 
the  immortal  Ego  east  off  one  personality  but  to  assume  another. 

Draupnir  (Scand.).  Tlie  golden  armlet  of  Wodan  or  Odin,  the 
eompanion  of  the  spear  Gungnir  which  he  holds  in  his  right  hand;  botli 
are  endowed  with  wonderful  magic  properties. 

Dravidians.  A  group  of  tribes  inhabiting  Soutliein  India:  the 
aborigines. 

Dravya   (Sk.).     Substance    (metaphysically). 

Drishti  (Sk.).    Scepticism;  unbelief. 

Druids.  A  sacerdotal  caste  which  flourished  in  Britain,  and  (iaul. 
Tliey  were  initiates  who  admitted  females  into  tlieir  sacred  order,  and 
initiated  them  into  the  mysteries  of  their  religion.  They  never  entrusted 
their  sacred  verses  and  scriptures  to  writing,  but,  like  the  Brahmans  of 
old,  committed  them  to  memory ;  a  feat  which,  according  to  the  state- 
ment of  CiEsar,  took  twenty  years  to  accomplisii.  Like  tlie  Parsis  they 
had  no  images  or  statues  of  their  gods.  The  Celtic  religion  considered 
it  blasphemy  to  represent  any  god,  even  of  a  minor  character,  under 
a  human  figure.  It  would  have  been  well  if  the  Greek  and  Roman 
Christians  had  learnt  this  lesson  from  the  "pagan''  Druids.  The  three 
chief  commandments  of  their  religion  were  : — "Obedience  to  divine  laws; 
concern  for  tlie  welfare  of  mankind;  suffering  with  fortitutle  all  the 
evils  of  life''. 

Druzes.  A  large  sect  numbering  about  100,000  adherents,  living  on 
]\Iount  Lebanon  in  Syria.  Their  rites  are  very  mysterious,  and  no 
traveller,  who  has  written  anything  about  them,  knows  for  a  certainty 
the  whole  truth.  They  are  tiie  Hufi^  of  Syria.  They  resent  being  called 
Druzes  as  an  insult,  but  call  themselves  the  "disciples  of  Hamsa",  theii- 
Messiah,  who  came  to  them  in  the  ninth  century  from  the  "Land  of 
the  Word  of  God",  which  land  and  word  they  kept  religiously  secret. 
The  Messiah  to  come  will  be  the  same  Hamsa,  but  called  Hakcm — the 
"All-IIealer".    (See  Isis  Unveiled,  II.,  308,  ct  scq.) 

Dudaim  (Hcb.).  Mandrakes.  The  Atropa  Mandragora  plant  is 
mentioned  in  Genesis,  xxx.,  14,  and  in  Canticles:  the  name  is  related  in 
Hebrew  to  words  meaning  "breasts"  and  "love",  the  plant  was  notorious 
as  a  love  charm,  and  has  been  used  in  many  forms  of  black  magic. 
[w.w.w.] 

Dudaim  in  Kabhalistic  parlance  is  the  Soul  and  Spirit  :  any  two  things 


yg  TIIKO«Ol'HICAL 

unit«'d  in  lovt*  ami  frifiitisliip    {ilu(liin<.    ■■ilapiis    is   n.    w  Im  |iitsti\i's 
liis  iludaim   (liijjlier  aiul  iowir  -Manas)   iiiseparahlr". 

Dugpaa  (Tib.).  Lit.,  "Hnl  Caps",  a  .sct-t  in  Tilxt.  H.fon-  ilu- 
advrnt  i)f  Tson«;-ka-pa  in  the  fourteentli  century,  the  Tibitans,  wlios«- 
Buddhism  hjid  deteriorated  and  been  dreadfully  adulterated  with  the 
tenets  of  the  old  lihon  relifrion, — were  all  Dujjpas.  From  that  century, 
however,  and  after  the  rifjfiil  laws  impo.seil  upon  the  ddnkpas  (yellow 
eaps^i  an<l  the  {general  n-form  and  puritieation  of  Buddhism  (or  Lam- 
aism),  the  l)u<.'pas  have  jriven  tiit-mselves  over  more  than  ever  to  sorcery, 
immorality,  and  drunkenness.  Since  then  the  word  Diufpa  has  heconn- 
a  synonym  of  "sorcerer",  "adept  of  black  magic"  and  everythinjj  vile. 
There  arc  few,  if  any,  Dugpas  in  Eastern  Tibet,  but  they  congregate  in 
Bhutan.  Sikkim.  and  the  horderlajuls  generally.  P^uropeans  not  being 
ptrmittfd  t(»  pt  lutrate  further  than  tlio.se  borders,  the  Orientalists  never 
liavin^'  studied  Huddlio-Lanuiism  in  Tibet  proper,  but  judging  of  it  on 
iiearsay  and  from  what  Cosmo  di  Kiiros.  Sehlagintweit.  and  a  few  others 
have  learnt  of  it  from  Dugpas.  confuse  both  religions  and  bring  them 
under  one  head.  They  thus  give  out  to  the  public  pure  Dugpaism  in 
stead  of  Buddho-Lanuiism.  in  short  Northern  Buddhism  in  its  purified. 
ni'tapli.Nsieal  form  is  almost  entirely  unknown. 

Dukkha  (Sk.l.     Sorrow,  pain. 

Dumah   ilhh.).     The  Angel  of  Silence   (Death)   in  the   Kabbala. 

Durga  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "inaccessible".  The  female  potency  of  a  god; 
thr  name  of  Kali,  the  wife  of  Siva,  tin-  Mahxsvuni,  or  "tlie  great  god". 

Dustcharitra  (Sk.).  The  "ten  evil  acts";  namely,  three  acts  of  the 
fioilv  vi:.,  taking  life,  theft  and  adultry ;  four  evil  acts  of  the 
mouih  viz.,  lying,  exaggeration  in  accusations,  slander,  and  foolish  talk; 
and  three  evil  acts  of  mind  (Lower  Manas),  viz.,  envy,  malice  or  re- 
venge, and  unbelief. 

Dwapara  Yuga  (Sk.).  The  third  of  the  "Four  Ages  '  in  Hindu 
Pliilos(iph\  ;  or  the  second  age  counted  from  below. 

Dwarf  of  Death.  In  the  Edda  of  the  Nor.semeii.  Iwaldi.  the 
Dwarf  of  Death,  hidi-s  Life  in  the  depths  of  the  great  ocean,  and  then 
.sends  her  up  into  the  world  at  the  right  time.  This  Life  is  Iduna,  the 
beautiful  maiden,  the  daughter  of  the  "Dwarf".  She  is  the  Eve  of  the 
Scandinavian  Lays,  for  she  gives  of  the  apples  of  ever-renewed  youth 
to  the  gods  of  Asgard  to  eat ;  but  these,  in.stead  of  being  cursed  for  so 
doing  and  doomed  to  die,  give  thereby  renewed  youth  yearly  to  the 
earth  and  to  men,  after  every  short  and  .sweet  sleej)  in  the  arms  of  the 
Dwarf.  Iduna  is  raised  from  the  Ocean  when  Bragi  iq.v.),  the  Dreamer 
of  Life,  without  spot  or  blemish,  crosses  asleep  the  silent  waste  of 
waters.  Bragi  is  the  divine  ideation  of  Life,  and  Iduna  living  Nature — 
Prakrit i,  Eve. 

Dwellers  Mm  tlie  Threshold j.  A  term  invented  by  Bulwer  Lytton 
in    Znuotii:    but     in     Occultism    the    word     "Dweller"    is    an    occult 


GLOSSARY  99 

term  used  by  students  for  long  ages  pjist.  and   rt-ft-rs  to  o.rtain   mal- 
eficent astral  Doubles  of  defunct  persons. 

Dwesa  fSk.).  An^'t-r.  One  of  the  three  priiieii)al  states  ot  nniKi 
(of  which  63  are  t'liunierated),  which  are  Kdtja — pride  or  evil  desire. 
Divesa —  anger,  of  which  hatretl  is  a  part,  and  Moha — the  ignorance  of 
truth.     These  three  are  to  be  steadily  avoided. 

Dwija  (Sk.).  "Twice-born  ".  In  days  of  old  this  term  was  used 
only  of  the  Initiated  Brahnians;  l)ut  now  it  is  applied  to  every  man  W- 
louging  to  the  first  of  tlie  four  castes,  who  has  und<'rgone  a  certain  cere- 
mony. 

Dwija  Brahman  (Sl:.j.  The  investure  with  the  sacred  thread  that 
now  constitutes  the  "second  birth".  Even  a  Hudra  who  chooses  to  pay 
for  the  honour  becomes,  after  the  ceremony  of  passing  through  a  silver 
or  golden  cow — a  dwija. 

Dwipa  (^h.).  An  island  or  a  continent.  The  Ilindus  have  seven 
\  Sapla  dwipa)  ;  the  Buddhists  only  four.  This  is  owing  to  a  misun- 
<lerstood  reference  of  the  Lord  Buddha  who.  using  the  term  m«'taphor- 
ically,  applied  the  word  dwipa  to  the  races  of  men.  The  four  Root-races 
which  preceded  our  fifth,  were  compared  by  Siddhartha  to  four  con- 
tinents or  isles  which  studded  the  ocean  of  birth  and  death — Samsara. 

Dynasties.  In  India  there  are  two,  the  Lunar  and  the  Solar,  or 
the  Soniat'ansa  and  the  Suryavausa.  In  Chaldea  and  Egypt  there  were 
also  two  distinct  kinds  of  dynasties,  the  divine  and  the  human.  In  both 
countries  people  were  ruled  in  the  beginning  of  time  by  Dynasties  of 
Gods.  In  Chaldea  they  reigned  one  hundred  and  twenty  Sari,  or  in  all 
432,000  years;  which  amounts  to  the  same  figures  as  a  Hindu  Mabayuga 
4,320,000  years.  The  chronology  prefacing  the  Book  of  (h  ncsvi  (Engli.sh 
translation)  is  given  "Before  Christ.  4004"'.  But  the  figures  are  a 
rendering  by  solar  years.  In  the  original  Hebrew,  which  preserved  a 
lunar  caleidation.  the  figures  are  4,320  years.  This  "coincidence"  is 
well  explained  in  Occultism. 

Dyookna  (h'ab.).  The  shadow  of  eternal  Light.  The  "Angels  of 
the  Presence"  or  archangels.  The  same  as  the  Frromr  in  the  Vrndidad 
and  Zoroastrian  works. 

Dzyn  or  Dzjian  (Tih.).  Written  also  Dzin.  A  corruption  of  the 
Sanskrit  DJn/an  and  Jndna  (or  gnj/dna  phonetically "i-^Visdom.  divine 
knowledge.     In  Tibetan,  learning  is  called  dzin. 


100  THEOSOPHICAL 


E. 


LL.— The  fifth  letter  of  tlie  English  alphabet.  The  he  (soft)  of  th.- 
Hebrew  alphabet  beeonies  in  tlie  Ehevi  system  ot"  i-eadinfr  tliat  laiigiiagf 
an  E.  Its  numerical  value  is  five,  and  its  symbolism  is  a  tvinduw;  the 
womb,  in  the  Kabbala.  In  the  order  of  the  divine  names  it  stands  for 
the  fifth,  which  is  Iladoor  or  the  "majestic"  and  the  "splendid." 

Ea  idiuld.).  also  Hm.  The  second  fiod  of  the  orifjinal  Babylonian 
trinity  composed  of  Anu,  Ilea  and  Bel.  Ilea  was  the  "Maker  of  Fate". 
"Lord  of  the  Deep".  "God  of  "Wisdom  and  Knowledrje".  and  "Lord  of 
the  City  of  Eridu". 

Eagle.  This  syml)ol  is  one  of  the  most  ancient.  Witii  the  Greeks 
and  Persians  it  was  sacred  to  the  Sun;  with  the  Egyptians,  under  the 
name  of  Ah,  to  Horus,  and  the  Kopts  worshipped  the  eagle  under  the 
name  of  Ahom.  It  was  regarded  as  the  sacred  emblem  of  Zeus  by  the 
Greeks,  and  as  that  of  the  highest  god  by  the  Druids.  The  symbol  has 
pass(?d  down  to  our  day,  when  following  the  exami)le  of  the  jiagan  ]\Iarius. 
who,  in  the  second  century  u.c.  used  the  double-iieaded  eagle  as  the  ensign 
of  Kome,  the  Christian  crowned  heads  of  Europe  made  the  double- 
headed  sovereign  of  the  air  sacred  to  themselves  and  their  scions.  Jupi- 
ter was  satisfied  with  a  one-headed  eagle  and  so  was  the  Sun.  The 
imperial  houses  of  Russia,  Poland,  Austria,  Germany,  and  the  late  Em- 
pire of  tlie  Napoleons,  have  adopted  a  two-headed  eagle  as  their  device. 

Easter.  The  word  evidently  comes  from  Ostara,  the  Scandinavian 
goddess  of  spring.  She  was  the  symbol  of  the  resurrection  of  all  nature 
and  was  worshipped  in  early  spring.  It  was  a  custom  with  the  pagan 
Norsemen  at  that  time  to  exchange  colored  eggs  called  the  eggs  of 
Ostara.  These  have  now  become  Eastrr-Eggs.  As  expressed  in  Asgard 
and  the  Gods:  "Cliristianity  put  another  meaning  on  the  old  custom,  by 
connecting  it  with  the  feast  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  Saviour,  who. 
like  the  hidden  life  in  the  egg,  slept  in  the  grave  for  three  days  before  he 
awakened  to  new  life".  This  was  the  more  natural  since  Christ  was 
identified  with  that  same  Spring  Sun  which  awakens  in  all  his  glory, 
after  the  dreary  and  long  death  of  winter.     (See  "Eggs".) 

Ebionites  (Jlch.).  Lit.,  "the  i)oor";  the  earliest  sect  of  Jewish 
Christians,  the  other  being  Nazarenes.  They  existed  when  the  term 
"Christian"  was  not  yet  heard  of.  ]\Iany  of  the  relations  of  lassou 
(Jesus),  the  adept  asetic  around  whom  the  legend  of  Christ  was  formed, 
were  among  the  P^bionites.  As  the  existence  of  tliese  mendicant  ascetics 
can  be  traced  at  least  a  century  earlier  than  chronological  Christianity, 


GLOSS  ARV  101 

it  is  an  additional  proof  that  lassou  or  Jesus  lived  during  the  reign  of 
Alexander  Jannaeus  at  Lyd  (or  Lud).  where  he  was  put  to  death  as 
stated  in  the  Scphcr  Toldos  Jcshu. 

Ecbatana.  A  famous  city  in  Media  worthy  of  a  place  among  the 
seven  wonders  of  tlie  world.  It  is  thus  described  by  Draper  in  his  Con- 
flict between  Religion  eind  Science,  chap.  I,  .  .  .  "Tlie  cool  summer 
retreat  of  the  Persian  Kings  was  defended  by  seven  encircling  walls  of 
hewn  and  polished  blocks,  the  interior  ones  in  succession  of  increasing 
height,  and  of  different  colors,  in  astrological  accordance  with  the  seven 
planets.  The  palace  was  roofed  with  silver  tiles;  its  beams  were  plated 
with  gold.  At  midnight  in  its  halls,  the  sun  was  rivalled  by  many  a  row 
of  naphtha  cressets.  A  paradise,  that  luxury  of  the  monarchs  of  the  East, 
was  planted  in  the  midst  of  the  city.  The  Persian  Empire  was  truly 
the  garden  of  the  world." 

Echath  Ileh.).    The  same  as  the  following— the  "One"',  but  feminin.'. 

Echod   (Heh.).     or  Echad.     "One",  masculine  applied  to  Jehovah. 

Eclectic  Philosophy.  One  of  the  names  given  to  the  Neo-Platonie 
school  of  Ak'xandi'ia. 

Ecstasis  (Gr.).  A  psycho-spiritual  state;  a  jihysical  trance  which 
induces  clairvoyance  and  a  beatific  state  bringing  on  A-isions. 

Edddi,(Ieelaiid.).  Lit.,  "great-grandmother"  of  the  Scandinavian 
Lays.  It  was  Bisliop  Brynjiild  Sveiusson,  who  collected  them  and 
brought  them  to  light  in  1643.  There  are  two  collections  of  Sagas, 
translated  by  the  Northern  Skalds,  and  there  are  two  Eddas.  The  ear- 
liest is  of  unknown  authorship  and  date  and  its  antiquity  is  very  great. 
These  Sagas  were  collected  in  the  Xlth  century  by  an  Icelandic  priest ; 
the  second  is  a  collection  of  the  iiistory  (or  myths)  of  the  gods  spoken 
of  in  the  first,  wiiich  became  Germanic  deities,  giants,  dwarfs  and  heroes. 

Eden  (Heh.).  "Delight",  pleasure.  In  Genesis  the  "Garden  of 
Delight"  built  by  God  ;  in  the  Kabbala  the  "Garden  of  Delight",  a  place 
of  Initiation  into  the  mysteries.  Orientalists  identify  it  with  a  place 
which  was  situated  in  Baljylonia  in  the  district  of  Karduniyas.  called  also 
Gan-dunu,  which  is  almost  like  the  Gan-eden  of  the  Jews.  (See  the 
works  of  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  and  G.  Smith.)  That  district  has  four  rivers. 
Euphrates,  Tigris,  Surappi,  Fkni.  The  two  first  have  been  adopted 
without  any  change  by  the  Jews:  the  other  two  they  have  probably 
transformed  into  "Gihon  and  Pi.son",  so  as  to  have  something  original. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  reasons  for  the  identification  of  Eden, 
given  by  Assyriologists.  The  cities  of  Babylon,  Larancha  and  Sippara, 
were  founded  before  the  flood,  according  to  the  chronology  of  the  Jews. 
"Surippak  was  the  city  of  the  ark,  the  mountain  east  of  the  Tigris  was 
the  resting  place  of  the  ark,  Babylon  was  the  site  of  the  tower,  and  Ur 
of  the  Chaldees  the  birthplace  of  Abraham."  And,  as  Abraham,  "the 
first  leader  of  the  Hebrew  race,  migrated  from  Ur  to  Ilarran  in  Syria 
and  from  thence  to  Palestine",  the  best  Assyriologists  think  that  it  is  "so 


102  THEIXSOI'IIICAL 

much  evidonco  in  favor  of  tin-  hypothesis  that  Chahlca  was  the  ori{?inal 
homo  of  these  stories  (in  the  liibh' )  and  that  the  Jews  receivi<l  them 
originally  from  the  Babylonians". 

Edom  lllih.).  Kdoinitc  Kinjrs.  A  dctjiiy  eonerah'd  mystery  is  to  be 
found  in  the  allej^ory  of  the  seven  Kinjrs  of  Edom.  who  "reifi^ned  in  the 
land  of  p]dom  before  there  rei<rned  any  King  over  the  ehildreii  of  Israel''. 
(Gen.  xx.wi,  31.)  The  Kabbala  teaeiies  that  tiiis  Kingdom  was  one  of 
"unbalanced  forces"  and  necessarily  of  unstable  character.  The  world 
of  Israel  is  a  type  of  the  condition  of  the  worlds  which  came  into  exist- 
ence subsequently  to  the  later  i)eriod  when  the  equilil)rium  had  become 
established,  fw.w.w.] 

On  the  other  hand  the  Eastern  Esoteric  philosoi)hy  teaclies  that  the 
seven  Kings  of  Edom  are  not  the  type  of  perished  worlds  or  unbalanced 
forces,  but  the  symbol  of  the  seven  human  Root-races,  four  of  which 
have  passed  away,  the  fifth  is  i>assing,  and  two  are  still  to  come.  Tliough 
in  the  language  of  esoteric  hlinds,  the  hint  in  St.  John's  R(V(  lotion  is 
clear  enough  when  it  states  in  chapter  xvii,  10:  "And  tliere  are  seven 
Kings;  five  are  fallen,  and  one  (the  fifth,  still)  is,  and  the  other  (the 
sixth  Root-race)  is  not  yet  come.  .  .  ."  Had  all  the  seven  Kings  of 
Edom  perished  as  worlds  of  "unbalanced  forces",  how  could  the  fifth 
still  be,  and  the  other  or  others  "not  yet  come"?  In  The  Kahhahih  Un- 
veiled, we  read  on  page  48,  "Tiie  seven  Kings  had  die(l  and  tlieir  pos- 
sessions had  been  broken  up",  and  a  footnote  emphasizes  the  statement 
by  saying,  "these  seven  Kings  are  the  Edomite  Kings". 

Edris  (Arab.),  or  Idris.  Meaning  "the  learned  One",  an  epithet 
applied  by  the  Arabs  to  Enoch. 

Eggs  (Easter).  Eggs  were  symbolized  from  an  early  time.  There 
was  the  "Mundane  Egg",  in  which  Brahma  gestated,  with  the  Hindus  the 
Uiranya-Gharba,  and  the  jMundane  Egg  of  the  p]gyptians.  which  pro- 
ceeds from  the  moutii  of  the  "unmade  and  eternal  deity",  Kneph,  and 
wiiich  is  the  emblem  of  generative  power.  Then  the  Egg  of  Babylon, 
which  hatched  Ishtar,  and  was  said  to  have  fallen  from  heaven  into  the 
Euphrates.  Therefore  coloured  eggs  were  used  yearly  during  spring  in 
almost  every  country,  and  in  Egypt  were  exchanged  as  sacred  symbols 
in  the  spring-time,  which  was,  is,  and  ever  will  be,  the  emblem  of  birth 
or  rebirth,  cosmic  and  human,  celestial  and  terrestrial.  Tiiey  were  hung 
up  in  Egyptian  temples  and  are  so  suspended  to  this  day  in  Maliometan 
mosques. 

Egkosmioi  (Or.).  "The  intercosmic  gods  each  of  which  pn-sides 
over  a  gi'eat  number  of  da'mons,  to  whom  they  impart  their  power  and 
change  it  from  one  to  another  at  will",  says  Proclus,  and  he  adds,  that 
which  is  taught  in  the  esoteric  doctrine.  In  his  system  he  shows  the 
uppermost  regions  from  the  zenith  of  the  Universe  to  the  moon  belong- 
ing to  the  gods,  or  planetary  Spirits,  according  to  their  hierarchies  and 
classes.     The  highest  among  them  were  the  twelve  JIuper-ouranioi,  the 


GLOSSARY  103 

supt-r-eelestial  g:()ds.  Xt-xt  to  tlio  lattt-r,  in  rank  and  jxiwer,  came  the 
Egokosmioi. 

Ego  (Lat.).  "Self;  the  consciousness  in  man  '"I  am  I" — or  tlie 
feeling  of  "I-am-ship".  Esoteric  philosoph.v  teaches  the  existence  of 
two  Egos  in  man,  the  mortal  or  personal,  and  the  Higher,  the  Divine  and 
the  Impersonal,  calling  the  former  "personality"  and  the  latter  "In- 
dividuality". 

Egoity.  From  the  word  "Ego".  Egoity  means  "individuality", 
never  "personality",  and  is  the  opposite  of  egoism  or  "selfishness",  the 
characteristic  par  excellence  of  the  latter. 

Egregores.  Eliphas  Levi  calls  them  the  "ciiiefs  of  the  souls  who 
are  tlie  spirits  of  energy  and  action ;  whatever  that  may  or  may  not  mean. 
The  Oriental  Occultists  describe  the  Egregores  as  Beings  whose  bodies 
and  essence  is  a  tissue  of  the  so-called  astral  light.  Tiiey  are  the  shadows 
of  the  higher  Planetary  Spirits  whose  bodies  are  of  the  essence  of  the 
higher  divine  light. 

Eheyeh  (Heh.).  "I  am",  according  to  Ibn  Gebirol.  but  not  in  the 
sense  of  "I  am  that  I  am". 

Eidolon  (Gr.).  The  same  as  that  which  we  term  the  human  phan- 
tom, the  astral  form. 

Eka  (Sk.).  "One";  also  a  synonym  of  Mahat,  the  Liiirtrsal  Miml. 
as  the  principle  of  Intelligence. 

Ekana-rupa  (Sk.).  The  One  (and  the  Many)  bodies  or  forms:  a 
term  applied  by  the  Paranas  to  Deity. 

Ekasloka  Shastra  (Sk.).  A  work  on  the  Shastnis  ('Scriptures  >  hy 
Xagarjuna ;  a  mystic  work  translated  into  Chinese. 

El-Elion  fiffh.).  A  name  of  the  Deity  horrou-id  by  tlie  Jews  from 
the  Plitt'iiiciau  Eton,  a  name  of  the  Sun. 

Elementals.  Spirits  of  the  Elements.  The  creatures  evolved  in 
tile  four  Kingdoms  or  Elements — earth,  air,  fire,  and  water.  They  are 
called  by  the  Kabbalists,  Gnomes  (of  the  earth).  Sylphs  (of  the  air). 
Salamanders  (of  the  fire),  and  Undines  (of  the  water).  Except  a  few 
of  the  higher  kinds,  and  their  rulers,  they  are  rather  forces  of  nature 
than  ethereal  men  and  women.  Thes*'  forces,  as  the  .servile  agents  of  the 
Occultists,  may  produce  various  effects;  but  if  employed  by  "Ele- 
mentaries"  (q.v.) — in  which  ease  they  enslave  the  mediums — they  will 
deceive  the  credulous.  All  the  lower  invisible  beings  generated  on  the 
5th,  6th,  and  Ttli  planes  of  our  terrestrial  atmosphere,  are  called  Ele- 
mentals: Peris,  Devs,  Djins,  Sylvans,  Satyrs,  Fauns.  Elves,  Dwarfs. 
Trolls,  Kobolds,  Brownies,  Nixies,  Goblins,  Pinkies,  Banshees.  Moss 
People,  White  Ladies,  Spooks,  Fairies,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

Elementaries.  Properly,  the  disembodied  souls  of  the  depraved ; 
these  souls  having  at  some  time  prior  to  death  separated  from  them- 
selves their  divine  spirits,  and  so  lost  their  chance  for  immortality  ;  Init 


104  THEOSOI'IIICAL 

at  the  present  stap:o  of  li-aniiiif;  it  lias  Imth  tlioiifrlit  best  to  apply  the 
term  to  the  spooks  or  ])liaiitoiiis  of  (lisciiihodicd  jxtsoiis.  in  general,  to 
those  vvhosi'  tt'inporary  lial)itation  is  the  Kama  Loka.  Eliphas  Levi  and 
some  other  Kabbalists  make  little  distiiietion  between  elementary  spirits 
wlio  liave  been  men,  and  tliose  beinpfs  wiiich  people  the  elements,  and  are 
the  blind  forces  of  nature.  Once  divorced  from  their  higher  triads  and 
their  bodies,  these  souls  remain  in  their  Kdma-rupic  envelopes,  and  are 
irresistibly  drawn  to  the  earth  amid  elements  congenial  to  their  gross 
natures.  Their  stay  in  the  Kama  Loka  varies  as  to  its  duration  ;  but 
ends  invariably  in  disintegration,  dissolving  like  a  column  of  mist,  atom 
by  atom,  in  the  surrounding  elements. 

Elephanta.  An  island  near  Bombay,  Lidia,  on  which  are  the  well- 
preserved  ruins  of  the  cave-temple  of  that  name.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  ancient  in  the  country  and  is  certainly  a  Cyclopeian  work,  though 
the  late  J.  Fergusson  has  refused  it  a  great  antiquity. 

Eleusinia  (Or.).  The  Eleusinian  Mysteries  were  the  most  famous 
and  the  most  ancient  of  all  the  Greek  Mysteries  (save  the  Samothracian), 
and  were  celebrated  near  the  hamlet  of  Eleusis,  not  far  from  Athens. 
Epiphanius  traces  them  to  the  days  of  Inachos  (1800  B.C.),  founded,  as 
another  version  has  it,  by  Eumolpus,  a  King  of  Thrace  and  a  Hierophant. 
They  were  celebrated  in  honour  of  Demeter,  the  Greek  Ceres  and  the 
Egyptian  Isis :  and  the  last  act  of  the  performance  referred  to  a  sacri- 
ficial victim  of  atonement  and  a  resurrection,  when  the  Initiate  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  highest  degree  of  "Epopt"  {q.v.).  The  festival  of  the 
Mysteries  began  in  the  month  of  Boedromion  (September),  the  time  of 
grape-gathering,  and  lasted  from  the  15th  to  the  22nd,  seven  days.  The 
Hebrew  feast  of  Tabernacles,  the  feast  of  Imjathcrings,  in  the  month  of 
Ethanim  (the  seventh),  also  began  on  the  15th  and  ended  on  the  22nd 
of  that  month.  The  name  of  the  month  (Ethanim)  is  derived,  according 
to  some,  from  Adoiiim,  Adonia,  Attenim,  Ethanim,  and  was  in  honour  of 
Adonai  or  Adonis  (Thammuz),  whose  death  was  lamented  by  the  He- 
brews in  tile  groves  of  Bethlehem.  The  sacrifice  of  both  "Bread  and 
Wine"  was  performed  before  the  Mysteries  of  initiation,  and  during 
the  ceremony  the  mysteries  were  divulged  to  the  candidates  from  the 
pctroma,  a  kind  of  book  made  of  two  stone  tablets  (pctrai),  joined  at  one 
side  and  made  to  open  like  a  volume.  (See  Isis  Unveiled  11..  pp.  44  and 
91.  rt  srq.,  for  further  explanations.) 

Elivagar  (Scand.).  The  waters  of  Chaos,  called  in  the  cosmogony 
of  the  Norsemen  "the  stream  of  Elivagar". 

Elohim  (Hfh.).  Also  Alhim,  the  word  being  variously-  spelled. 
Godfrey  Higgins,  who  has  written  much  upon  its  meaning,  always 
spells  it  Aleim.  The  Hebrew  letters  are  alcph,  lamed,  he,  ijud,  mem,  and 
are  numerically  1,  30,  5,  10,  40=86.  It  seems  to  be  plural  of  the  feminine 
noun  Eloah,  ALII,  formed  by  adding  the  common  plural  form  IM,  a 
masculine  ending ;  and  hence*  the  whole  seems  to  imply  the  emitted  active 


GLOSSARY  105 

and  passive  essences.  As  a  title  it  is  re  furred  to  "Binali"  the  Supernal 
Mother,  as  is  also  the  fuller  title  IHVH  ALHIM,  Jehovah  Elohim.  As 
Binah  leads  on  to  seven  succeedent  Emanations,  so  "Elohim"  has  been 
said  to  represent  a  sevenfold  i)o\ver  of  godhead,   [w.w.w.] 

Eloi  (On.).  The  Genius  or  ruler  of  Jupiter;  its  Planetary  Spirit. 
(See  Origen,  Contra  Celsum). 

Elu  (Sing.).     An  ancient  dialect  used  in  Ceylon. 

Emanation  the  Doctrine  of.  In  its  metaphysical  meaning,  it  is  opposed 
to  li^volution,  yet  one  with  it.  Science  teaches  that  evolution  is  physiolog- 
ically a  mode  of  generation  in  which  the  germ  that  develops  the  foetus 
pre-exists  already  in  the  parent,  the  development  and  final  form 
and  characteristics  of  that  germ  being  accomplislied  in  nature;  and  that 
in  cosmology  the  process  takes  place  blindly  through  tlie  correlation 
of  the  elements,  and  their  various  compounds.  Occultism  answers  that 
this  is  only  the  apparent  mode,  the  real  process  being  Emanation,  guided 
by  intelligent  Forces  under  an  immutable  Law.  Therefore,  while  the 
Occultists  and  Theosophists  believe  thorougiily  in  the  doctrine  of  Evolu- 
tion as  given  out  by  Kai)ila  and  Manu,  they  are  Emanationists  rather 
than  Evolutio)>ists.  The  doctrine  of  Emanation  was  at  one  time  uni- 
versal. It  was  taught  by  the  Alexandrian  as  well  as  by  the  Indian  phil- 
osophers, by  the  Egyptian,  the  Chaldean  and  Hellenic  Ilierophants,  and 
also  by  the  Hebrews  (in  their  Kabbala,  and  even  in  Genesis).  For  it  is 
only  owing  to  deliberate  mistranslation  that  tiie  Hebrew  word  asdt  has 
been  translated  "angels"  from  the  Septuagint,  wlien  it  means  Emana- 
tions, JEons,  precisely  as  with  the  Gnostics.  Indeed,  in  Deuteronomy 
(xxxiii.,  2)  the  word  asdt  or  ashdt  is  translated  as  "fiery  law",  whilst 
the  correct  rendering  of  the  pa.ssage  should  be  "from  his  right  hand  w'ent 
[not  a  fiery  law,  but]  a  fire  according  to  law";  viz.,  that  the  fire  of  one 
flame  is  imparted  to,  and  caught  up  by  another  like  as  in  a  trail  of  in- 
flammable substance.  This  is  precisely  emanation.  As  shown  in  Isis 
Unveiled:  "In  Evolution,  as  it  is  now  beginning  to  be  understood,  there 
is  supposed  to  be  in  all  matter  an  impulse  to  take  on  a  higher  form — 
a  supposition  clearly  expressed  by  Manu  and  other  Hindu  philosophor.s 
of  the  highest  antiquity.  The  philosopher's  tree  illustrates  it  in  the  cose 
of  the  zinc  solution.  The  controversy  between  the  followers  of  this 
school  and  th(^  P^manationists  may  be  briefly  stated  thus:  The  Evolu- 
tionist stops  all  inquiry  at  the  borders  of  "the  Unknowable" ;  the  Emana- 
tionist  believes  that  notliing  can  be  evolved — or,  as  the  word  means,  un- 
wombed  or  born — except  it  has  first  been  involved,  thus  indicating  that 
life  is  from  a  spiritual  potency  above  the  whole. 

Empusa  (Gr.).  A  ghoul,  a  vampire,  an  evil  demon  taking  various 
forms. 

En  (or  Ain^  Soph  (ITeh.).  The  endless,  limitless  and  ])oundle.ss. 
The  absolute  deiiic  Principle,  impersonal  and  unknowable.  It  means 
literally  "no-thing"  i.e.,  nothing  that  could  be  classed   with   anything 


106  THEOSOIMIICAL 

else.  The  word  and  ideas  are  equivalent  to  tin-  Vedantie  conceptions  of 
Parabrahm.  [w.w.w.] 

Some  Western  Kal)balists,  however,  contrive  to  inaki-  of  It,  a  jHTSftnal 
■■//'  ",  a  male  dt-ity  instead  of  an  impersonal  deity. 

En  (ClnihL).  A  lU'^Mtivc  particle,  like  a  in  (J reek  and  Sanskrit.  The 
first  syllable  of  "En-Soph"  (q.v.),  or  ;jothing:  that  beji^ins  or  ends,  the 
"Endless". 

Enoichion  ill  v.).  Lit.,  the  innei-  Eye";  the  "Seer"  a  reference 
to  the  tiiird  iinur,  or  Spiritual  Eye,  the  true  name  for  Enoch  disfignired 
from  Chanoch. 

Ens  (Gr.).  The  .same  as  the  Greek  To  On  "Being",  oi-  the  real 
Preseiiee  in  Nature. 

Ephesus  (dr.).  Famous  tor  its  jrreat  metaithysieal  College  where 
Occultism  {Gnusis)  and  Platonic  philosophy  were  taught  in  the  days  of 
the  Apostle  Paul.  A  city  regarded  as  the  focus  of  secret  sciences,  and 
that  Gnosis,  or  Wisdom,  which  is  the  antagonist  of  the  perversion  of 
Christo-Esotericism  to  this  day.  It  was  at  Ephesus  wliere  was  the  great 
College  of  the  E.sseues  and  all  tiie  lore  the  Tanaim  had  brought  from 
the  Chaldecs. 

Epimetheus  (Gr.).  Lit.,  "He  who  takes  eounsel  afrcr"  the  event. 
A  brother  of  Prometheus  in  Greek  Mythology'. 

Epinoia  (Gr.).  Thought,  invention,  design.  A  name  adopted  by 
tlie  Gnostics  for  the  first  passive  JEon. 

Episcopal  Crook.  One  of  the  insignia  of  Bishops,  derived  from 
the  sacerdotal  sceptre  of  the  Etruscan  Augurs.  It  is  also  found  in  the 
hand  of  several  gods. 

Epoptes    (dr.).     An    Initiate.     One   who   has   j^assed   his  last   degree 

of  initiation. 

Eridanus   ( IjCit.).     Ardun,  the  Greek  name  for  the  river  Jordan. 

Eros  ((jr.).  Ilesiod  makes  of  the  god  Eros  the  third  personage  of 
the  Hellenic  primordial  Trinity  composed  of  Ouranos,  Gaea  and  Eros. 
It  is  the  personified  procreative  Force  in  nature  in  its  abstract  sense,  the 
propeller  to  "creation"  and  procreation.  Exoterically,  mythologj- 
makes  Eros  the  god  of  lustful,  animal  desire,  whence  the  term  erotic; 
esoterieally,  it  is  different.     (See  "Kama"). 

Eshmim  (Ilch.).  The  Heavens,  the  Firmament  in  which  are  the 
Sun,  Planets  and  Stars ;  from  the  root  8m,  meaning  to  place,  dispose ; 
henee.  the  planets,  as  disposers,  [w.w.w.] 

Esoteric  (Gr.).  Hidden,  .secret.  Frof  the  Greek  (sofiricos,  "iinier", 
eoncealed. 

Esoteric  Bodhism.  Secret  wisdom  or  intelligence  from  the  Greek 
csotcricos  "inii.r'.  and  the  San.skrit  Bodhi,  "knowledge",  intelli- 
gence— in  contradistinction  to  Buddhi,  "the  faiuUu  of  knowledge 
or  intelligence",  and  Buddhism,  the  philosophy  or  Law  of  Buddha  (the 


GLOSSARY  107 

Enliglitened).      Also    writtcMi    "Budliisin  ".    from    Badha    (Intelligence 
and  Wisdom)  the  Son  of  Soma. 

Essasua.     Tlie  African  and  Asiatic  sorcerers  and  s<-rj)ent  cliarmers. 

Essenes.  A  lielleiiized  word,  from  the  Hebrew  Asa,  a  "healer".  A 
mysterious  sect  of  Jews  said  by  Pliny  to  have  lived  near  the  Dead  Sea 
per  miUia  saculorum — for  thousands  of  ages.  "Some  have  supposed 
them  to  be  extreme  Pharisees,  and  others — which  may  be  tne  true  theory 
'-the  descendants  of  the  B(  nim-nahim  of  the  BihU ,  and  think  that  they 
were  'Kenites'  and  Nazarites.  They  had  many  Buddhistic  ideas  and 
practices;  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  priests  of  the  Gnat  Mothrr  at 
Ephesus,  Diana-Bhavani  witli  many  breasts,  were  also  so  denominated. 
Eusebius,  and  after  him  l)e  Quincey,  declared  them  to  be  the  same  as 
the  early  Christians,  which  is  more  than  probable.  The  title  'brother', 
used  in  the  early  Church,  was  Essenean ;  they  were  a  fraternity,  or  a 
koinohion  or  community  like  the  early  converts."  {Isis  Unveiled). 

Ether.  Students  are  but  too  apt  to  confuse  this  with  Akasa  and 
with  Astral  Light.  It  is  neither,  in  the  sense  in  which  ether  is  described 
by  physical  Science.  Etiier  is  a  material  agent,  though  hitherto  unde- 
tected by  any  physical  apparatus ;  whereas  Akasa  is  a  distinctly  spiritual 
agent,  identical,  in  one  sense,  with  the  Anima  Mundi,  while  the  Astral 
Light  is  only  the  seventh  and  highest  principle  of  the  terrestrial  atmos- 
phere, as  undctectalile  as  Akasa  and  real  Ether,  because  it  is  something 
quite  on  anotlier  i)lane.  The  seventh  principle  of  the  earth's  atmosphere, 
as  said,  the  Astral  Light,  is  only  the  second  on  the  Cosmic  scale.  The 
scale  of  Cosmic  Forces,  Principles  and  Planes,  of  Emanations — on  the 
metaphysical — and  Evolutions — on  the  physical  plane — is  the  Cosmic 
Serpent  biting  its  own  tail,  the  Serpent  reflecting  the  Higher,  and  re- 
flected in  its  turn  by  the  lower  Serpent.  The  Caduceus  explains  the 
mystery,  and  the  four-fold  Dodecahedron  on  the  model  of  which  the 
universe  is  said  by  Plato  to  have  been  built  by  the  manifested  Logos — 
synthesized  by  the  unmanifested  First-Born — yields  geometrically  the 
key  to  Cosmogony  and  its  microcosmic  reflection — our  Earth. 

Eurasians.  An  abbreviation  of  "European-Asians"'.  The  mixed 
cohnired  races:  the  children  of  the  white  fathers  and  the  dark  mothers  of 
India,  or  vice  versa. 

Evapto.   Initiation;  the  same  as  Epoplna. 

Evolution.  The  development  of  higher  orders  of  animals  from 
lower.  As  said  in  Isis  Unveiled:  "^Modern  Science  holds  but  to  a  one- 
sided physical  evolution,  prudently  avoiding  and  ignoring  the  higiier  or 
spiritual  evolution,  which  would  force  our  contemporaries  to  confess  the 
superiority  of  the  ancient  philosophers  and  p.sychologists  over  themselves. 
The  ancient  sages,  ascending  to  the  inknowarle.  made  their  starting- 
point  from  the  first  manifestation  of  the  unseen,  the  unavoidable,  and, 
from  a  strictly  logical  reasoning,  the  absolutely  necessary  creative  Being, 
the  Demiurgos  of  the  universe.     Evolution  began  with  them  from  jiurc 


108  TlllX)S()l'lil(AI. 

spii'it.  wlik-li  ik'.sfi'iiding  lowiT  and  lower  down,  assumed  at  last  a  visible 
and  comprehensible  form,  and  beeame  matter.  Arrived  at  this  i)oint, 
they  speculated  in  the  Darwinian  method,  but  on  a  far  more  large  and 
comprehensive  basis."  (See  "Emanation''.) 

Exoteric.     Outward,  imblie;  the  opi)osite  of  esoterie  or  hidden. 

Extra-Cosmic.  (Outside  of  Kosmos  or  Nature;  a  nonsensieal  word 
iuveiited  to  a.ssert  the  existence  of  a  personal  pod,  independent  of,  or  out- 
side, Nature  per  sc,  in  opposition  to  the  Pantheistic  idea  that  the  whole 
Kosmos  is  animated  or  informed  with  the  Spirit  of  Deity,  Nature  being 
but  the  garment,  and  matter  tiie  illusive  shadow,  of  the  real  unseen 
Presence. 

Eye  of  Horus.  A  very  sacretl  .symbol  in  aneient  Egypt.  It  was 
called  the  auta:  the  right  eye  represented  the  sun,  the  left,  the  moon. 
Says  Macrobius:  "The  outa  (or  uta)  is  it  not  the  emblem  of  the  sun, 
king  of  the  world,  who  from  his  elevated  throne  sees  all  the  Universe 
below  him?" 

Eyes  (divine).  Tlie  "eyes''  the  Lord  Buddha  developed  in  him 
at  tile  twentieth  hour  of  his  vigil  when  sitting  under  the  Bo-tree,  when 
he  was  attaining  Buddhaship.  They  are  the  eyes  of  the  glorified  Spirit, 
to  which  matter  is  no  longer  a  physical  impediment,  and  which  have  the 
power  of  seeing  all  things  within  the  space  of  the  limitless  Universe.  On 
the  following  morning  of  that  night,  at  the  close  of  the  third  watch,  the 
"Merciful  One"  attained  the  Supreme  Knowledge. 

Ezra  (Tlrb.).  The  Jewisli  priest  and  scribe,  who,  circa  450  B.C., 
compiled  the  Pentateuch  (if  indeed  he  was  not  author  of  it)  and  the 
rest  of  the  Old  Testament,  except  Nehemiah  and  Malachi.   [w.w.w.] 

Ezra  (H(h.).  The  same  as  Azareel  and  Azriel,  a  great  HebreAv 
Kabbalist.  His  full  name  is  Rabbi  Azariel  ben  Manahem.  He  flourished 
at  Valladolid,  Spain,  in  the  twelfth  century,  and  was  famous  as  a  phil- 
osopher and  Kabbalist.    He  is  the  author  of  a  work  on  the  Ten  Sephiroth. 


ULU^SAKV  109 


F. 

r  . — The  sixth  letter  of  the  English  alpluilx't.  for  wiiieh  there  is  no 
equivalent  in  Hebrew.  It  is  the  donbh*  Fj  of  the  ^Eolians  which  becamt- 
the  Digamma  for  some  mysterious  reasons.  It  corresponds  to  the  Greek 
phi.  As  a  Latin  numeral  it  denotes  40.  witii  a  dash  over  the  letter  (F) 
400,000. 

Faces  (Kabbalisiic),  or,  as  in  Hebrew,  Fartzuphccm.  The  word  us- 
ualh-  refers  to  Arechh  Anpecn  or  Long  Face,  and  Zcir-Aiiprn,  or  Short 
Face,  and  Rcsha  Hivrah  the  "White  Head"  or  Face.  The  Kabbala 
states  that  from  the  moment  of  their  appearance  (the  hour  of  differ- 
entiation of  matter)  all  the  material  for  future  forms  was  contained  in 
the  three  Heads  which  are  one,  and  called  Attcckuh  Kadosha,  (Holy 
Ancients  and  the  Faces).  It  is  when  the  Faces  look  toward  each  other, 
that  the  "Holy  Ancients"  in  three  Heads,  or  Attcckah  Kadosha,  are 
called  Areek  Appayem,  i.e.,  "Long  Faces".  (See  Zohar  iii..  292a.) 
This  refers  to  the  three  Higher  Principles,  cosmic  and  human. 

Fafnir  (Stand.).     The  Dragon  of  Wisdom. 

Fahian  (Chin.).  A  Chine.se  traveller  and  writer  in  the  early  cen- 
turies of  Christianity,  who  wrote  on  Buddhism. 

Fa-Hwa-King  (Chin.).    A  Chinese  work  on  Cosmogony. 

Faizi  (Aral).).  Literally  the  "heart".  A  writer  on  occult  and 
mystic  subjects. 

Fakir  (Arab.).  A  ^Mussulman  ascetic  in  India,  a  Maliometan 
"Yogi".  The  name  is  often  applied,  though  erroneously,  to  Hindu  as- 
cetics; for  strictly  speaking  only  Mussuhnan  ascetics  are  entitled  to  it. 
This  loose  way  of  calling  things  by  general  names  was  adopted  in  Isis 
Unveiled  but  is  now  altered. 

Falk,  Cain  Chcnul.  A  Kabbalistic  Jew,  reputed  to  have  worked 
"miracles".  Kenneth  Mackenzie  quotes  in  regard  to  him  from  the 
German  ainialist  Archenoilz'  work  on  England  (1788): — "There  exists 
in  Loudon  an  extraordinary  man  who  for  thirty  years  has  been  cele- 
brated in  Kab])alistic  records.  He  is  named  Cain  Cheinil  Falk.  A 
certain  Count  de  Rautzow,  lately  dead  in  the  service  of  France,  with  the 
rank  of  Field-Marshal,  certifies  that  he  has  seen  this  Falk  in  Brunswick, 
and  that  evocations  of  spirits  took  place  in  the  presence  of  credible  wit- 
nessess. "  These  "spirits"  were  Elementals,  whom  Falk  brought  into 
view  by  the  conjurations  used  by  every  Kabbalist.  His  son,  Johann 
Frederich  Falk,  likewise  a  Jew,  was  also  a  Kabbalist  of  repute,  and  was 
once  the  head  of  a  Kabbalist  college  in  London.  His  occupation  was 
that  of  a  jeweler  and  appraiser  of  diamonds,  and  he  was  a  wealthy  man. 


110  THEOSOPIIICAL 

To  this  day  tin-  my.stie  writiiijrs  and  rare  Kabbalistic  works  bi-queatlied 
by  him  to  a  trustee  may  be  perused  in  a  certain  half-public  library  in 
London,  by  every  genuine  student  of  Occultism.  Falk's  own  writings 
are  still  in  ]MS.,  and  some  in  cyijher. 

Farbauti  (Scand.).  A  giant  in  the  Edda;  Jil.,  "'the  oarsman"; 
the  father  of  Loki,  whose  mother  was  the  giantess  Laufey  (leafy  isle)  ;  a 
genealogy  which  makes  W.  S.  W.  Anson  remark  in  Asgnrd  and  the  Gods 
that  probably  the  oarsman  or  Farbauti  "was  .  .  .  tlie  giant  who 
saved  himself  from  the  flood  in  a  boat,  and  the  latter  (Laufey)  the 
island  to  which  he  rowed" — which  is  an  additional  variation  of  the 
Deluge. 

Fargard  (Z<iid.).  A  section  or  cluipter  of  verses  in  the  Vrndidad 
of  the  Parsis. 

Farvarshi  (MazdJ.  The  same  as  Fcroucr,  or  the  opposite  (as 
contrasted)  double.  The  spiritual  counterpart  of  the  still  more  spiritual 
original.  Thus,  Ahriman  is  the  Ferouer  or  the  Farvarshi  of  Ormuzd— 
"demon  est  deus  im^ersus" — Satan  of  God.  Michael  the  Archangel,  "he 
like  god",  is  a  Ferouer  of  that  god.  A  Farvarshi  is  the  shadowy  or  dark 
side  of  a  Deity — or  its  darker  lining. 

Ferho  (Gnost.).  The  highest  and  greatest  creative  power  with 
the  Nazarene  Gnostics.  {Codex  Nazarceus). 

Fetahil  (Gr.).     The  lower  creator,  in  the  same  Codex. 

First  Point.  Metaphysically  the  first  point  of  manifestation,  the 
germ  of  primeval  differentiation,  or  the  point  in  the  infinite  Circle 
"whose  centre  is  everywhere,  and  circumference  nowhere".  The  Point 
is  the  Logos. 

Fire  (Living).  A  figure  of  speech  to  denote  deity,  the  "One"  life. 
A  theurgic  term,  used  later  by  the  Rosicrucians.  The  symbol  of  the 
living  fire  is  the  sun,  certain  of  whose  rays  develop  the  fire  of  life  in  a 
diseased  body,  impart  the  knowledge  of  the  future  to  the  sluggish  mind, 
and  stimulate  to  active  function  a  certain  psychic  and  generally  dor- 
mant faculty  in  man.    The  meaning  is  very  occult. 

Fire-Philosophers.  The  name  given  to  the  Hermetists  and 
Alcliemists  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  also  to  the  Rosicrucians.  The  latter,, 
the  successors  of  the  Theurgists,  regarded  fire  as  the  symbol  of  Deity.  It 
was  the  source,  not  only  of  material  atoms,  but  the  container  of  the 
spiritual  and  psychic  Forces  energizing  them.  Broadly  analyzed,  fire  is 
a  triple  principle ;  esoterically,  a  septenary,  as  are  all  the  rest  of  the 
Elements.  As  man  is  composed  of  Spirit,  Soul  and  Body,  plus  a  four- 
fold aspect:  so  is  Fire.  As  in  the  works  of  Robert  Fludd  (de  Fluctibus) 
one  of  the  famous  Rosicrucians,  Fire  contains  (1)  a  visible  flame  (Body)  ; 
(2)  an  invisible,  astral  fire  (Soul)  ;  and  (3)  Spirit.  The  four  aspects  are 
heat  (life),  light  (mind),  electricity  (Kamic,  or  molecular  powers)  and 
the  Synthetic  Essence,  beyond  Spirit,  or  the  radical  cause  of  its  exist- 
ence and  manifestation.    For  the  Hermetist  or  Rosicrucian,  when  a  flame? 


GLOSSARY  111 

is  extinct  on  the  objective  plane  it  has  only  passed  from  the  seen  world 
unto  the  unseen,  from  the  knowable  into  the  unknowable. 

Fifty  Gates  of  Wisdom  (Kah.).  The  number  is  a  blind,  and 
there  are  really  49  prates,  for  Moses,  than  whom  the  Jewish  world  has  no 
higher  adept,  reached,  according  to  the  Kab])alas.  and  passed  only  the 
49th.  These  "gates"  typify  tiie  different  planes  of  Being  or  Ens.  They 
are  thus  the  "gates"  of  Life  and  the  "gates"  of  understanding  or  de- 
grees of  occult  knowledge.  Tliese  49  (or  50)  gates  correspond  to  the 
seven  gates  in  the  seven  caves  of  Initiation  into  the  ]\Iysteries  of  Mithra 
(see  Celsus  and  Kircher).  The  division  of  the  50  gates  into  five  chief 
gates,  each  including  ten — is  again  a  blind.  It  is  the  fourth  gate  of 
these  five,  from  which  begins,  ending  at  the  tenth,  the  world  of  Planets, 
thus  making  seven,  corresponding  to  the  seven  lower  Sephiroth — that 
the  key  to  their  meaning  lies  hidden.  They  are  also  called  the  "gates  of 
Rinair"  or  understanding. 

Flagse  (fbrm.).  A  name  given  l)y  Pai-fieelsus  to  a  i)artienlar  kiii<l 
of  guardian  angels  or  genii. 

Flame  (Ilohj).  The  "Holy  Flame"  is  tlie  name  given  by  tlie 
Eastern  Asiatic  Kabbalists  (Semites)  to  the  Anima  Mundi,  the  "world- 
soul".    The  Initiates  were  called  the  "Sons  of  the  Holy  Flame". 

Fludd  (Robert),  generally  known  as  Rohrrtus  dr  Flucfibus  the 
chief  of  the  "Philosophers  by" Fire".  A  celebrated  Englisli  Ilermeti.st  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  a  voluminous  writer.  lie  wrote  on  the  essence 
of  gold  and  otlier  mystic  and  occult  subjects. 

Fluvii  Transitus  (Lat.).  Or  crossing  of  tlie  River  (Chebar). 
Cornelius  Aggrippa  gives  tliis  ali)habet.  In  tlie  Ars  Quatnor  Corona- 
torum.  Vol.  III.,  i)art  2,  1890.  whieli  work  is  the  Report  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Quartuor  Coronati  Lodge  of  Freemasons.  No.  2076,  will  be 
found  copies  of  this  alphabet,  and  also  the  curious  old  letters  called 
Melachim.  and  the  Celestial  alphabet,  supplied  by  W.  Wynn  Westcott, 
P.M.  This  lodge  seems  to  be  the  only  one  in  England  whicli  really  does 
study  "the  hidden  mysteries  of  Nature  and  Science"  in  earnest. 

Fohat  (rih.).  A  term  used  to  represent  the  active  (male)  potency 
of  the  Sakti  (female  reproductive  power)  in  nature.  The  essence  of 
cosmic  electricity.  An  occult  Tibetan  term  for  Dairiprakriti,  primordial 
light:  and  in  the  universe  of  manifestation  the  ever-present  electrical 
energy  and  ceaseless  destructive  and  formative  power.  Esoterically. 
it  is  "the  same,  Fohat  being  the  universal  ])ropelling  Vital  Vovov.  at 
once  the  propeller  and  the  resultant. 

Foh-tchou  (Chin.).  Lit.,  "Buddha's  Lord",  meaning,  however, 
.simply  the  teacher  of  the  doctrines  of  Buddha.  Foli  means  a  Guru  who 
lives  generally  in  a  temple  of  a  Sakyamuni  Buddlia — the  Foh-Maeyu. 

Fons  Vitae  (Lot.).  A  word  of  Ibn  Gebirol,  the  Arabian  Jewish 
philosopher  of  tlie  Xlth  century,  who  called  it  Mc-fjor  Haiiyun  or  the 


112  TIIEOSOPIIICAL 

"Fountain  of  Life"  ( J>i  Mah  ria  I'liivtrsdli  ami  Fi))is  Vitcr).  'Plir 
Westorn  Kahbalists  liavc  proclainicii  it  a  really  Kahhalistic  work. 
Several  MSS..  Latin  and  Hebrew,  of  this  wondei-ful  produetion  have 
been  discovered  by  scholars  in  public  libraries;  anionj;  others  one  by 
Munk,  in  ISOli.  The  Latin  name  of  Ibn  Gebirol  was  Avieebron,  a  name 
well-known  to  all   Oriental  scholars. 

Four  Animals.  The  synd)olic  animals  of  the  vision  of  PJzekiel  (the 
Ml  rcahdh ).  "•With  the  first  Christians  the  celebration  of  the  Mys- 
ti'ries  of  the  Faith  was  accompanied  by  tlu'  bui'iiinp:  of  seven  liglits. 
with  incense,  the  Trishaj^ion,  and  the  reading  of  the  book  of  the  gos- 
pels, upon  which  was  wrought,  both  on  covers  and  pages,  the  winged 
man,  lion,  bull,  and  eagle"  {Qabbalah,  by  Isaac  Myer,  LL.B.).  To  this 
day  these  animals  are  represented  along  with  the  four  Evangelists  and 
prefixing  their  respective  gospels  in  the  editions  of  the  Greek  Church. 
p]aeh  represents  one  of  the  four  lower  classes  of  worlds  or  planes,  into 
the  similitude  of  which  each  pcrsonaUty  is  cast.  Thus  the  Eagle  (as- 
sociated with  St.  John)  represents  cosmic  Spirit  or  Ether,  the 
all-piercing  Eye  of  the  Seer;  the  Bull  of  St.  Luke,  the  waters  of  Life, 
the  all-generating  element  and  cosmic  strength ;  the  Lion  of  St.  Mark, 
fierce  energy,  undaunted  courage  and  cosmic  fire ;  while  the  human 
Head  or  the  Angel,  which  stands  near  St.  IMatthew  is  the  synthesis  of 
all  three  combined  in  the  higher  Intellect  of  man,  and  in  cosmic  Spirit- 
uality. All  these  symbols  are  P^gyptian,  Chaldean,  and  Indian.  The 
Eagle,  Bull  and  Lion-headed  gods  are  plentiful,  and  all  represented 
the  same  idea,  whether  in  the  Egyptian,  Chaldean,  Indian  or  Jewish 
religions,  but  beginning  with  the  Astral  body  they  went  no  higher  than 
the  cosmic  Spirit  or  the  Higher  Manas — Atma-Buddhi,  or  Absolute 
Spirit  and  Spiritual  Soul  its  vehicle,  being  incapable  of  being  sym- 
bolised by  concrete  images. 

Fravasham  (Zend).    Absolute  spirit. 

Freya  or  Frigfja  (Slcand.).  In  the  Edda,  Frigga  is  the  mother  of 
the  gods  like  Aditi  in  the  Vedas.  She  is  identical  with  the  Northern 
Frea  of  the  Germans,  and  in  her  lowest  aspect  was  worshipped  as  the 
all-nourishing  Mother  Earth.  She  was  seated  on  her  golden  throne, 
formed  of  webs  of  golden  light,  with  three  divine  virgins  as  her  hand- 
maidens and  messengers,  and  was  occupied  with  spinning  golden  threads 
with  which  to  reward  good  men.  She  is  Isis  and  Diana  at  the  same  time, 
for  she  is  also  Ilolda,  the  mighty  huntress,  and  she  is  Ceres-Demeter, 
who  protects  agriculture — the  moon  and  nature. 

Frost  Giants  or  Hrimihurscs  (Scand.).  They  are  the  great  build- 
ers, the  Cyelo])es  and  Titans  of  the  Norsemen,  and  play  a  promin- 
ent part  in  the  Edda.  It  is  they  who  build  the  strong  wall  round  Asgard 
(the  Scandinavian  Olympus)  to  protect  it  from  the  Jotuns,  the  wicked 
giants. 

Flyfot  (Scand.).  A  weapon  of  Thor,  like  the  Swastika,  or  the  Jaina,. 
the  four-footed  cross;  generally  called  "Thor's  Hammer". 


GLOSSARY  113 


G. 


>J. — The  seventh  letter  in  the  Enprlish  alphabet.  "Tn  Greek,  Chal- 
dean, Syriac,  II('])rew,  Assyrian.  Samaritan.  Etrnrian.  Coptic,  in  the 
modern  Romaic  and  Gotliic,  it  occupies  the  tliird  place  in  the  alphabet, 
while  in  Cyrillic,  Glafrolitic,  Croat,  Russian,  Servian  and  Wallachian. 
it  stands  fourth."  As  the  name  of  "jrod"  beprins  witli  tliis  letter  (in 
Syriac,  gad;  Swedish,  gud;  German,  gott ;  Enjrlish,  god;  Persian,  gada. 
etc.,  etc.),  there  is  an  occult  reason  for  this  which  only  the  students 
of  esoteric  philosophy  and  of  the  Secret  Doctrine,  explained  esoterically. 
will  understand  thoroufrhly ;  it  refers  to  the  three  logni — ^the  last,  the 
Elohim,  and  the  emanation  of  the  latter,  the  androprynous  Adam  Kad- 
mon.  All  these  peoples  have  derived  the  name  of  "god"  from  their 
respective  traditions,  the  more  or  less  clear  echoes  of  the  esoteric  tra- 
dition. Spoken  and  "Silent  Speech"  (writinpr)  are  a  "g:ift  of  th«> 
g:ods",  say  all  the  national  traditions,  from  the  old  Aryan  Sanskrit- 
speaking^  people  who  claim  that  their  alpha])et,  the  Deranagari  (lit., 
the  language  of  the  d(  vas  or  gods)  was  given  to  them  from  heaven, 
down  to  the  Jews,  who  speak  of  an  alphabet,  the  parent  of  the  one 
which  has  survived,  as  having  been  a  celestial  and  mystical  symbolism 
given  by  the  angels  to  the  patriarchs.  Hence,  every  letter  had  its 
manifold  meaning.  A  symbol  itself  of  a  celestial  being  and  objects,  it 
was  in  its  turn  represented  on  earth  by  like  corresponding  objects 
whose  form  symbolised  the  shape  of  the  letter.  Tlie  present  letter 
called  in  Hebrew  gimel  and  symbolised  by  a  long  camel's  neck,  or 
rather  a  serpent  erect,  is  associated  with  the  third  sacred  divine  name. 
Ghadol  or  Magnus  (great).  Its  numeral  is  four,  the  Tetragranimaton 
and  the  .sacred  Tetraktys;  hence  its  sacredness.  With  other  people  it 
stood  for  400  and  with  a  dash  over  it,  for  400,000. 

Gabriel.  According  to  the  Gnostics,  the  "Spirit"  or  Cliristos,  the 
"messenger  of  life",  and  Gabriel  are  one.  The  former  "is  called  some- 
times the  Angel  Gabriel — in  Hebrew  'the  mighty  one  of  God',"  and 
took  with  the  Gnostics  the  place  of  the  Logos,  while  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  considered  one  witli  the  .^]on  Life  (see  Irenaus  T.,  xii.V 
Therefore  we  find  Theodoret  saying  (in  Hard.  Fah.,  II.,  vii.)  :  "Tlie 
heretics  agree  with  us  (Christians)  respecting  the  beginning  of  all 
things.  .  .  .  but  they  say  there  is  not  one  Chri.st  (God),  hut  one 
above  and  the  other  below.  And  this  last  formerhj  dwelt  in  man]i ;  but 
the  Jesus,  they  at  one  time  say  is  from  God,  at  another  they  call  him 
a  Spirit."  The  key  to  this  is  given  in  the  esoteric  philosophy.  The 
"spirit"  with  the  Gnostics  was  a    female   potency  exoterically,   it    was 


114  TJIEOSOI'UHAI, 

the  ray  proet'ediiijj^  from  the  Ilij^luT  Manas,  tin-  Egu,  and  tliat  wliicli 
the  Esotorit'ists  refer  to  as  the  Kama-Manas  or  the  h)W('r  pm'sonal  Ego, 
vvhieli  is  radiated  in  every  iiumau  entity  by  the  IIi{?her  Ego  or  Christos, 
the  god  witliin  us.  Therefore,  tliey  were  right  in  saying:  "there  is 
not  one  Christ,  but  one  above  and  the  other  below".  Every  student 
of  Oeeultism  will  understand  this,  and  also  that  Gabriel — or  "the 
mighty  one  of  God" — is  one  with  tlie  Higher  Ego.    (See  I  sis  Unveiled.) 

Gaea  (Or.).  Primordial  flatter  in  the  Cosmogony  of  llesiod ;  Earth, 
as  some  think ;  the  wife  of  Ourauos,  the  sky  or  heavens.  The  female 
j)ersona<>e  of  the  primeval  Trinity,  composed  of  Ouranos,  Gsea  and  Eros. 

Gaffarillus.  An  Aleliemist  and  plnlosoi)lier  who  lived  in  the 
middle  of  tiie  seventeenth  century.  He  is  the  first  philosopher  known 
to  maintain  that  every  natural  object  {e.g.,  plants,  living  creatures, 
etc.),  when  burned,  retained  its  form  in  its  ashes  and  that  it  could  be 
raised  again  from  them.  This  claim  was  justified  by  the  eminent  chem- 
ist Du  Chesne,  and  after  him  Kireher,  Digby  and  Vallemont  have  as- 
sured themselves  of  the  fact,  by  demonstrating  that  the  astral  forms 
of  burned  plants  could  be  raised  from  their  ashes.  A  receipt  for 
raising  such  astral  phantoms  of  flowers  is  given  in  a  work  of  Oetinger, 
Thoughts  ou  the  Birth  and  the  Generation  of  Things. 

Gaganeswara  (SI:.).    "Lord  of  the  Sky",  a  name  of  Garuda. 

Gai-hinnom  (Ilch.).    The  name  of  Hell  in  the  Talmud. 

Gambatrin  (Scand.).  The  name  of  Hermndur's  magic  staff" 
in  tile  Ed  da. 

Ganadevas  (Sk.).  A  certain  class  of  celestial  Beings  who  are 
said  to  inhabit  Maharloka.  They  are  the  rulers  of  our  Kalpa  (Cycle) 
and  therefore  termed  Kalpadhikarins,  or  Lord  of  the  Kalpas.  They 
last  only  "One  Day"  of  Brahma. 

Grandapada  (Sk.).  A  celebrated  Brahman  teacher,  the  author 
of  the  Commentaries  on  the  Sankhya  Karika,  Mandukga  Upanishad, 
and  other  works. 

Gandhara  (Sk.).  A  musical  note  of  great  occult  ]»ower  in  the 
Hindu  gamut — the  third  of  the  diatonic  scale. 

Gandharva  (Sk.).  The  celestial  choristers  and  musicians  of  India. 
In  the  Vcdas  these  deities  reveal  the  secrets  of  heaven  and  earth  and 
esoteric  science  to  mortals.  They  had  charge  of  the  sacred  Soma  plant 
and  its  juice,  the  ambrosia  drunk  in  the  temple  which  gives  "omni- 
science". 

Gan-Eden  (Heh.).    Also  Gandunigas.     (See  "Eden"). 

Ganesa  (Sk.).  The  elephant-headed  God  of  Wisdom,  the  son  of  Siva. 
He  is  the  same  as  the  P^gyptian  Thoth-Hermes,  and  Anubis  or  Her- 
manubis  (q.v.).  The  legend  shows  him  as  having  lost  his  human  head, 
which  was  replaced  by  that  of  an  elephant. 

Ganga    (Sk.).      The    Ganges,   the    principal    sacred    river    in    India. 


GLOSSARY  115 

There  are  two  versions  of  its  myth :  one  relates  that  Ganga  (the  goddess) 
having  transformed  herself  into  a  river,  flows  from  the  big  toe  of  Vishnu  ; 
the  other,  that  the  Ganga  droi)s  from  the  ear  of  Siva  into  the  Anava- 
tapta  lake,  thenee  passes  out,  througli  the  mouth  of  the  silver  eow 
igoniukhi),  crosses  all  Eastern  India  and  falls  into  the  Southern  Ocean. 
"An  'heretical  superstition'  ",  remarks  Mr.  Eitel  in  his  Sanskrit, 
Chinese  Dictionary  "ascribes  to  the  waters  of  the  Ganges  sin-cleansing 
power".  No  more  a  "superstition"  one  would  say,  than  the  belief 
tliat  the  waters  of  Bai)tism  and  the  Jordan  have  "sin-cleansing  i)ower". 

Gangadwara  (Sk.).  "The  gate  or  door  of  tive  Gauges",  literally; 
the  name  of  a  town  now  called  Hardwar,  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalayas. 

Gangi  (Sk.).  A  renowned  Sorcerer  in  the  time  of  Kasyapa  Buddha 
(a  predecessor  of  Gautama).  Gangi  was  regarded  as  an  incarnation  of 
Apalala,  the  Naga  (Serpent),  the  guardian  Spirit  of  the  Sources  of 
Subhavastu,  a  river  in  Udyana.  Apalahi  is  said  to  have  been  converted 
by  Gautama  Buddha,  to  the  good  Law,  and  become  an  Arhat.  The  al- 
legory of  the  name  is  comprehensible :  all  the  Adepts  and  Initiates  were 
called  ndgas,  "Serpents  of  Wisdom". 

Ganinnanse.  A  Singhalese  i)riest  who  lias  not  yet  been  ordained 
— from  gana,  an  assemblage  or  brotherhood.  The  higher  ordained  priests 
"are  called  terunndnse  from  the  Pali  thero,  an  elder"  (Hardy). 

Garm  (Scand.).  The  Cerberus  of  the  Edda.  This  monstrous  dog 
lived  in  the  Gnypa  cavern  in  front  of  the  dwelling  of  Hel,  the  goddess 
of  the  nether-world. 

Garuda  (Sk.).  A  gigantic  bird  in  the  Rdmdgana.  the  steed  of  Vislimi. 
Esoterically — the  symbol  of  the  great  Cycle. 

Gatha  (Sk.).  i\letrieal  chants  or  hymns,  consisting  of  moral  aphor- 
isms.   A  gatha  of  thirty-two  words  is  called  Aryagiti. 

Gati  (Sk.).  The  six  (esoterically  seven)  conditions  of  sentient  ex- 
istence. These  are  divided  into  two  groups:  the  three  higher  and  the 
three  lower  paths.  To  the  former  belong  the  devas,  the  asuras  and  i  im- 
mortal) men;  to  the  latter  (in  exoteric  teachings)  creatures  in  hell, 
pretas  or  hungry  demons,  and  animals.  Explained  esoterically,  how- 
ever, the  last  three  are  the  personalities  in  Kamaloka,  elementals  and 
animals.  The  seventh  mode  of  existence  is  that  of  the  Nirmanakaya  (q.v.). 

Gatra  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  limhs  (of  Brahma)  from  which  the  "mind- 
born"  sons,  the  seven  Kumaras,  were  born. 

Gautama  (Sk.).  The  Prince  of  Kapilavastu,  son  of  Sudhodana,  the 
Sakya  king  of  a  small  realm  on  the  borders  of  Nepaul,  born  in  the 
seventh  century  B.C.,  now  called  the  "Saviour  of  the  World".  Gautama 
or  Gotama  was  the  sacerdotal  name  of  the  Sakya  family,  and  Sidhartha 
was  Buddha's  name  before  he  became  a  Buddha.  Sakya  ^Muni,  means 
the  Saint  of  the  Sakya  family.  Born  a  simple  mortal  he  rose  to  Buddha- 
ship  through  his  own  personal  and  unaided  merit.  A  man — verily 
greater  than  any  god ! 


ll(i  THEOSOI'HICAL 

Gaya  (Skj.  Auv'wui  city  of  MafTiitlha,  a  little  north-wi'st  of  the 
modtTii  Gayah.  It  is  at  the  fornior  tliat  Sakyamiuii  reached  his  Biiddlia- 
ship.  under  the  famous  Bodhi-tree,  Bodhidnima. 

Gayatri  iSLj,  also  Sarilri.  A  tiiost  sacred  vei-se.  adtlressed  to  the 
Sun,  in  the  Hi«j-Veda.  which  the  liralinians  have  to  repeat  mentally 
every  raorn  and  eve  during  their  devotions. 

Geber  (/lib.),  or  liibhorini.  "Mijrhty  men";  the  same  as  the 
h'(ihiri)ii.  In  heaven,  they  are  re«;:arded  as  powerful  an«?els,  on  earth 
.IS  tlie  {xiants  mentioneil  in  chai)ter  vi.  of  Gnu  sis. 

Gebirol,  S<ilo»ion  Jh  ii  .hhudah.  (-ailed  in  literature  Avicel)ron. 
All  Israelite  by  birth,  a  philosopher,  poet  and  Kal)l)alist,  a  voluminous 
writer  and  a  mystic.  lie  was  born  in  the  eleventh  century  at  IMalaga 
(lO'Jl).  educated  at  Sargossa,  and  died  at  Valencia  m  1070.  murdered 
by  a  Mahommedan.  His  fellow-religionists  called  him  Salomon  the 
Sephanli,  or  the  Spaniard,  and  the  Arabs,  Abu  Ayyub  Suleiman  ben 
ya'hya  Ibn  Dfrebirol.  whilst  the  scholastics  named  him  Avieebron.  (See 
Myer's  (Jahbalah).  Ibn  Gebirol  was  certainly  one  of  the  greatest  phi- 
losphers  and  scholars  of  his  age.  He  wrote  much  in  Arabic  and  most 
of  his  MSS.  have  been  preserved.  His  greatest  work  appears  to  be  the 
Mrgnf  Jlaiiji'nn,  ij .,  the  Fountain  of  Lif< ,  "one  of  the  earliest  exposures 
of  the  .secrets  of  the  Speculative  Kabbalah",  as  his  biographer  informs 
us.  (See  "  Fous  Vita''M. 

Geburah  iHrb.).  A  Kabhali.stic  term;  tiie  liftli  Sephira.  a  female 
and  passive  potency,  meaning  .sevei-it.N  and  |»n\ver:  from  it  is  named 
the  Pillar  of  Severity,   [w.w.w.] 

Gedulah  illih.).     Another  name  for  the  Sei)hira  (lusid. 

Gehenna,  in  Hebrew  Hinnom.  No  hell  at  all,  but  a  valley  near 
Jerusalem,  where  Israelites  immolated  their  children  to  Moloch.  In  that 
valley  a  place  named  TopJut  was  situated,  where  a  fire  was  j)erpetually 
preserved  for  sanitary  purpo.ses.  The  prophet  Jeremiah  informs  us  that 
his  countrymen,  the  Jews,  used  to  sacrifice  their  children  on  that  spot. 

Gehs   (Z(nd).     Parsi  prayers. 

Gelukpa  (Tib.).  "Yellow  Caps"  literally;  the  highest  and  most 
urthodo.x  Buddhist  sect  in  Tibet,  the  antithesis  of  the  Dugpa  ("Red 
<'aps").  the  old  "devil  wor.siiippers''. 

Gemara  dlcb.).  The  latter  portion  of  the  Jewish  Talmud,  begun 
by  Rabbi  Ashi  and  completed  by  Rabbis  Mar  and  ]\Ieremar.  about  300 
,\.D.  [w.w.w.] 

LH..  to  tinisli.     It  is  a  commentary  on  the  ]\Iishna. 

Gematria  illtb.).  A  division  of  the  practical  Kabbalali.  It  .shows 
the  numerical  value  of  Hebrew  words  by  summing  up  the  values  of  the 
letters  composing  them;  and  further,  it  shows  by  this  means,  analogies 
between  words  and  phrases,   [w.w.w.] 

One  of  the  methods  (arithmetical)  for  extracting  the  hidden  meaning 
from  letters  words  and  sentences. 


GLOSSARV  117 

Gems,  Thni  pncious.  In  Southern  Huddliisni  tlit-s4'  an-  the  sacretl 
books,  the  Buddhas  and  the  priesthood.  In  Nortliern  Buddhism  and  its 
secret  schools,  the  Buddha,  liis  sacred  tmchinprs,  and  the  Xarjols  (Bud- 
dhas of  Compassion). 

Genesis.  The  whole  of  the  liook  of  Genesis  down  to  tlie  deatii  of 
Joseph,  is  found  to  be  a  hardly  altered  version  of  the  Cosmogony  of 
the  Chaldeans,  as  is  now  repeatedly  proven  from  the  As.syrian  tiles. 
The  first  three  chapters  are  transcribed  from  the  allefrorical  narratives 
of  the  befrinninps  common  to  all  nations.  Cliapters  four  and  five  are 
a  new  allegorical  adaptation  of  the  same  narration  in  the  secret  Bo^ 
of  Numbers;  cha])ter  six  is  an  astronomical  narrative  of  the  Solar 
year  and  the  seven  cosmocratorcs  from  the  Egryptian  original  of  the 
Pymander  and  the  symbolical  visions  of  a  series  of  Enoxchioi  (Seers) 
— from  whom  came  also  the  Book  of  Enodi.  The  l)efrinninp:  of  Exodus, 
and  the  story  of  Moses  is  that  of  the  Babylonian  Sarfron,  who  having 
flourished  (as  even  that  unwillin<r  authority  Dr.  Sayce  tells  us)  3750 
B.C.  preceded  tlie  Jewish  lawgiver  by  almo.st  2300  years.  (See  Sccrrl 
Doctrine,  vol.  IT.,  pp.  691  et  seq.).  Nevertheless,  Genesis  is  an  unde- 
niably esoteric  work.  It  has  not  borrowed,  nor  has  it  disfigured  the 
universal  symbols  and  teachings  on  the  lines  of  which  it  was  written, 
but  simply  adapted  the  eternal  truths  to  its  own  national  spirit  and 
clothed  them  in  cunning  allegories  comprehensible  only  to  its  Kabbal- 
ists  and  Initiates.  The  Gnostics  have  done  the  .same,  each  sect  in  its 
own  way,  as  thousands  of  years  before,  India,  Egypt,  Chaldea  and 
Greece,  had  also  dressed  the  same  incommunicable  truths  each  in  its 
own  national  garb.  The  key  and  solution  to  all  such  narratives  can 
be  found  onb/  in  the  esoteric  teachings. 

Genii  (Lat.).  A  name  for  ^ons,  or  angels,  with  the  Gnostics.  TW 
names  of  their  hierarchies  and  classes  are  simply  legion. 

Geonic  Period.  The  era  of  the  Geonim  may  be  found  mentioned 
ill  works  ti'eating  of  the  Kabbalah;  the  ninth  century  .v.d.  is  implied, 
[w.w.w.] 

Gharma  (Sk.).  A  title  of  Karttikeya,  the  Indian  god  of  war  and 
the  Kuniara  born  of  Siva's  drop  of  sweat  that  fell  into  the  Ganges. 

Ghocha  (Sh\).  Lit.,  "the  miraculous  X'oicc".  Tlie  name  of  a  great 
Arhat,  the  autlu)r  of  Ahhidhdrmnmriia  Shasta,  wiio  restored  sight  to  a 
blind  man  by  anointing  his  eyes  with  the  tears  of  the  audience  moved  by 
his  (Ghocha 's)  supernatural  eloquence. 

Gilgoolem  (Heh.).  The  cycle  of  rebirths  with  the  Hebrew  Kab- 
balists;  with  the  orthodox  Kabbalists,  the  "whirling  of  the  soul"  after 
death,  which  finds  no  rest  until  it  reaches  Palestine,  the  "promised 
land",  and  its  body  is  buried  there. 

Gimil  (Scand).  "The  Cave  of  Gimil"  or  Wingolf.  A  kind  of 
Heaven  or  Paradise,  or  perhaps  a  New  Jerusalem.  Imilt  l)y  the  "Strong 


118  THE()«()IMir<  Al. 

aiul  Mijrhty  God'  who  remains  nainoless  in  the  Edda,  aljove  the  Field 
of"  Ida.  and  aftiT  the  new  earth  rose  out  of  the  waters. 

Ginnungagap  (Sctnnl.).  Thf  "euj)  of  illn.sion"  literally;  the 
abyss  of  the  <rreat  deep,  or  the  slioreless.  bejriiininjrh'.ss.  and  mdlcss  yawn- 
inpr  friilf;  whieh  in  esoteric  parlanef  we  eall  the  "World's  Matrix",  tiie 
primordial  livinfj:  spaee.  'I'lu-  ciii)  that  contains  the  universe,  hence  the 
"cup  of  illusion". 

Giol  (SiandJ.  The  Styx,  the  livcr  (iiiil  wliidi  had  to  be  crossed 
befoiv  the  nether-world  was  reached,  or  the  cold  Kin^'dom  of  Ilel.  It 
was  si)anned  by  a  {jold-covered  bridge,  which  led  to  the  gigantic  iron 
fence  that  encircles  th(»  palace  of  the  Goddess  of  the  Under- World  or 
Ilel. 

Gna  (Scandj.  One  of  the  three  iiandinaidens  of  the  goddess  Kreya. 
She  is  a  female  Mei-cui-v  who  bears  her  mistress'  messages  into  all  parts 
of  the  world. 

Gnana  (Sk.).     Knowledge  as  applied  to  tiie  esoteric  .sciences. 

Gnan  Devjis  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  gods  of  knowledge".  The  higher 
classes  of  gods  or  dcvas;  the  "mind-born"  sons  of  Brahma,  and  others 
including  the  Mauasa-jjutros  (the  Sons  of  Intellect).  Esoterically,  our 
reincarnating  Effos. 

Gnanasakti  (Sk.}.  The  power  of  true  knowledge,  one  of  the 
seven  great  forces  in  Nature  .{six,  exoterically). 

Gnatha  (Sk.).  The  Kosmic  Ego;  the  con.scious,  intelligent  Soul  of 
Kosmos. 

Gnomes   (Ahli.).     The  Rosieruciaii   name  for  the  mineral   and  earth 

eleUlelitals. 

Gnosis  (Or.).  Lit.,  "knowledge".  The  technical  term  used  by  the 
.schools  of  religious  philosophy,  both  before  and  during  the  fir.st  centuries 
of  so-called  Christianity,  to  denote  the  object  of  their  enquiry.  This 
Spiritual  and  Sacred  Knowledge,  the  Gupta  VidyCi  of  the  Hindus,  could 
only  be  obtained  by  Initiation  into  Spiritual  Mysteries  of  which  the 
eeremonial  "^lysteries''  were  a  type. 

Gnostics  (Gr.).  The  philosophers  who  formulated  and  taught  the 
Gnosis  or  Knowledge  (q.v.).  They  flourished  in  the  fir.st  three  centuries 
of  the  Christian  era:  the  following  were  eminent.  Valentinus.  Basilides. 
^larcion.  Simon  Magus,  etc.   [w.w.w.] 

Gnypa  (ScdniL).     The  cavern  watched  by  the  dog  Garm   (q.v.). 

Gogard  (Zoid).    The  Tree  of  Life  in  the  Avcsta. 

Golden  Age.  The  ancients  divided  the  life  cycle  into  the  Golden, 
Silver.  Bronze  and  Iron  Ages.  Tiie  Golden  was  an  age  of  primeval 
])urity,  simplicity  and  general  hapi)iness. 

Gonpa  (Tib.).    A  temple  or  monastry ;  a  Jjamaarry. 

Gopis  (Sk.).  Shepherdes.ses — the  playmates  and  companions  of 
Krishna,  among  whom  was  his  wife  Raddiia. 


GLOSSARY  119 

Gossain  (Sk.).    The  name  of  a  eertain  class  of  ascetics  in  India. 

Great  Age.  There  were  several  "^eat  ages''  mentioned  by  the 
ancients.  In  India  it  embraced  the  whole  Maha-manvantara,  the  "age 
of  Brahma",  each  "Day"  of  which  represents  the  life  cycle  of  a 
chain — i.e.  it  embraces  a  period  of  seven  Rounds.  (See  Esotiric  Buct 
dhism,  by  A.  P.  Sinnett.)  Thus  while  a  "Day"  and  a  "Night"  repre- 
sent, as  Manvantara  and  Pralaya,  8,640,000,000  years,  an  "age"  lasts 
through  a  period  of  311,040,000^000,000  years;  after  which  the  Pralaya. 
or  dissolution  of  the  universe,  becomes  universal.  With  the  Egyptiann 
and  Greeks  the  "great  age"  referred  only  to  the  tropical  or  sidereal 
year,  the  duration  of  which  is  25,868  solar  years.  Of  the  complete 
age — that  of  tlie  gods — they  say  nothing,  as  it  was  a  matter  to  be  dis- 
cussed and  divulged  only  in  the  ^lysteries,  during  the  initiating  cere- 
monies. The  "great  age"  of  the  C'haldees  was  tlie  same  in  figures  as 
that  of  the  Hindus. 

Grihastha  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "a  householder",  "one  wiio  lives  in  a 
house  with  his  family".  A  Brahman  "family  priest"  in  popular  render- 
ing, and  the  sarcerdotal  hierarchy  of  the  Hindus. 

Guardian  Wall.  A  suggestive  name  given  to  the  host  of  trans- 
lated adepts  (Narjols)  or  the  Saints  collectively,  who  are  supposed  to 
watch  over,  help  and  protect  Humanity.  This  is  the  so-called  "Nir- 
manakaya"  doctrine  in  Northern  mystic  Buddhism.  (See  Voicr  of  the 
Silence,  Part  III.). 

Guff  (Heh.).     Body;  physical  form;  also  written  Gof. 

Guhya  (Sk.).    Concealed,  secret. 

Guhya  Vidya  (Sk.).     The  secret  knowledge  of  mystic  ■Mantras. 

Gullweig  (Scand.).  The  personification  of  the  "golden"  ore.  It 
is  said  in  the  Edda  tliat  during  the  Golden  Age,  when  lust  for  gold 
and  wealth  was  yet  unknown  to  man,  "when  the  gods  played  with 
golden  disks,  and  no  passion  disturbed  the  rapture  of  mere  existence", 
the  whole  earth  was  happy.  But  no  sooner  does  "Gullweig  (Gold  ore) 
the  bewitching  enchantress  come,  who,  thrice  cast  into  the  fire,  arises 
each  time  more  beautiful  than  before,  and  fills  the  souls  of  gods  and 
men  with  unappeasable  longing",  than  all  became  changed.  It  is  then 
that  the  Norns,  the  Past,  Present  and  Future,  entered  into  being,  the 
blessed  peace  of  childhood's  dreams  passed  away  and  Sin  came  into 
existence  with  all  its  evil  consequences.     (Asgard  and  the  Gods.) 

Gunas  (Sk.).  Qualities,  attributes  (See  "Triguna"^  :  a  thread, 
also  a  cord, 

Gunavat  (Sk.).     That  which  is  endowed  with  qualities. 

Gupta  Vidya  (.SV,-.).  The  same  as  Guhya  Vidya;  Esoteric  or  St^cret 
Science ;  knowledge. 

Guru  (Sk.).  Spiritual  Teacher;  a  master  in  metaphysical  and 
ethical  doctrines ;  used  also  for  a  teacher  of  any  science. 


120  THKiKSoI'lIli  Al, 

Guru  Deva  (Sk.).     Lit.,  ■■(livim-  Master". 

Gyan-Ben-Gian  il'<rs.}.  Tli»-  K\\\\i  of  tlu-  IN-ris.  tli.-  Sylphs,  in 
the  old  mytliolopy  of  Iran. 

Oyges  (dfi.).  "Thf  rinj:  of  (lytri-s"  has  lu'conu-  a  familiar  mcta- 
j)hor  in  Kuropcan  litcratnn'.  (ivjjfs  was  a  Lydian  who.  after  murder- 
infr  the  Kinp  Candault's,  married  his  widow.  I'lato  tells  us  that  GyRes 
ileseended  once  into  a  chasm  of  the  earth  and  di.se(»vered  a  bra/en 
horse,  within  whose  op»'n  side  was  the  skeleton  of  a  man  who  had  a 
bra/en  rin<j  on  his  tinper.  This  rinj;  when  plaeeil  on  his  own  finger 
made   him   invisible. 

Gymnosophists  (Gr. ).  The  name  jriveii  by  Hellenic  writers  to  a 
class  of  naked  or  "air-clad"  mendicants:  ascetics  in  India,  extremely 
learned  and  endowed  with  ^rreat  mystic  powers.  It  is  easy  to  recogniw 
in  these  pymno-sophists  the  Hindu  Araiiyaka  of  old,  the  learned  yogis 
and  ascetic-philosophers  who  retired  to  the  jungle  and  forest,  there 
to  reach,  throufrh  ^rreat  austerities,  superhuman  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience. 

Gyn  (Tib.).  KnowIed<re  aecpiired  under  the  tuition  of  an  adept 
teacher  or  guru. 


GLOSS AKV  121 


H. 


H, 


• — The  fifrlith  '.etter  and  aspirate  of  tlic  Enprlisli  alphabet,  and  also 
the  eiphth  in  the  Hebrew.  As  a  Latin  numeral  it  signifies  200,  and 
with  the  addition  of  a  dash  200,000;  in  the  IIe])rew  alp]ial)et  rh«'th 
is  equivalent  to  />.  corresponds  to  eijrht,  and  is  symbolized  by  a  F'ence 
and  V()ius  accordinfr  to  Reyffarth,  being:  in  affinity  and  conneeted  with 
He,  and  therefore  with  the  opening  or  womb.  It  is  jire-eminently  a 
Youic  letter. 

Ha  (i^k.).  A  majrie  .syllable  used  in  saered  formulfe :  it  represents 
the  powt^r  of  Akasa  Sakti.  Its  efficacy  lies  in  the  expirational  accent 
and  the  sound  produced. 

Habal  de  Garmin  (II<I).).  Accordinj:  to  the  Kabbalah  this  is 
tile  Kesurreetion  Body:  a  iz<hm  imajie  or  dnnooth  similitude  to  the 
deceased  man ;  an  inner  fundamental  spiritual  type  remaininpr  after 
death.  It  is  the  "Spirit  of  the  Rones"  mentioned  in  Daniel  and  Isaiah 
and  the  Psalms,  and  is  refern-d  to  in  the  Vision  of  Ezekiel  aliout  the 
elothinpr  of  the  drv  bones  with  life:  con.sult  C.  de  Leininpen  on  the 
Kabbalah,  T.  P.  S.*  Pamphlet.  Vol.  II..  No.  18.   [w.w.w.] 

Hachoser  (Ilrh.).  Lit.,  "retlected  Lifrhts";  a  name  for  tin-  minor 
or  inferior  powers,  in  the  Kabbalah. 

Hades  (Gr.).  or  A'id< s.  The  "invisible"",  i'.< ..  the  land  of  the 
shadows,  one  of  whose  regions  was  Tartarus,  a  jilaee  of  complete  dark- 
ne.ss.  like  the  region  of  profound  dreamless  sleej>  in  the  Egyptian 
.\menti.  Judging  by  tlie  allegorical  deserij)tion  of  the  various  punish- 
ments inflicted  therein,  the  place  was  purely  Karmic.  Neither  Ilades 
nor  Amenti  were  the  liell  still  preached  by  some  retrograde  priests  and 
clergymen;  but  whether  represented  by  the  Ely.sian  Fields  or  by  Tar- 
tarus, Ilades  was  a  place  of  retributive  justice  and  no  more.  This 
could  only  be  reached  by  crossing  the  river  to  the  "other  shore",  i.i ., 
by  crossing  the  river  Death,  and  being  once  reborn,  for  weal  or  for 
woe.  As  well  expressed  in  K(f!/i)ti(iii  l'nl\4  f:  "The  story  of  Charon,  the 
ferrynum  (of  the  Styx)  is  to  hv  found  not  only  in  Homer,  but  in  the 
poetry  of  many  lands.  The  River  must  be  cros.sed  before  gaining  the 
I.sles  of  the  Blest.  The  Ritual  of  Egypt  described  a  Charon  and  his 
boat  long  ages  before  Honn  r.  He  is  Khu-en-ua.  the  hawk-headed 
steersman."    (See  "Amenti".   "Ilrl   "   jnul   "Happy   Fields".) 

Hagadah  (Ilch.).  A  nam*-  given  to  pai-ts  of  tlu-  Talmud  which 
are  legendary,  [w.w.w.] 

Hahnir      (Hcand.),  or  llnnir.        One    of    th.'    mighty    gods    (Odin. 


122  TH?X>S()1'J1I(  Al. 

Ilaiuur  and  Lmlur  >  wlio.  wliiU-  waiKUrinti  on  tarlh,  loiinil  lying  on  tin- 
sea-shore  two  human  forms,  motionless,  speechless,  and  sens<'less.  Odin 
jjave  them  souls;  Ilahnir.  motion  and  senses;  and  Tindur.  Monminfr  com- 
plexions.   Thus  Were  men  created. 

Haima  //»/*.'.  'I'lie  same  as  the  Sanskrit  hinnn/ii  ('•roldcni.  as  "the 
•rnlden  KfTfr"  Ilirdin/dfjarbha. 

Hair.  Occult  i)hil()sophy  considers  the  hair  iwliethii-  human  or 
animal)  as  the  natural  receptacle  and  rrtaimr  of  the  vital  es.scnce 
which  often  escapes  with  other  emaiuitions  from  the  body.  It  is  closely 
connected  with  many  of  the  hrain  functions — for  instance  memory. 
With  the  ancient  Israelites  the  euttinp  of  the  hair  and  beard  was  a 
sifrn  of  dcHlement,  and  "the  Lord  said  unto  Mo.ses.  .  .  .  They 
shall  not  make  baldness  upon  their  head",  etc.  (Lev.  xxi.,  1-5.)  "Bald- 
ness", whether  natural  or  artificial,  was  a  sijrn  of  calamity,  punish- 
ment, or  <rrief.  as  when  Isaiah  (iii.,  24)  enuincrates,  "instead  of  well- 
.set  hair  l)aldness".  amon«x  the  evils  that  are  ready  to  befall  the  chosen 
people.  And  aj;ain.  "On  all  their  heads  baldness  and  every  beard  cut" 
{Ibid.  XV..  2).  The  Nazarite  was  ordered  to  let  his  hair  and  beard 
•rrow.  and  never  to  permit  a  razor  to  touch  them.  With  the  Egyptians 
and  Buddhists  it  was  only  the  initiated  priest  or  ascetic  to  wliom  life  is 
a  burden,  who  shaved.  The  Epryptian  priest  was  supposed  to  have  be- 
come master  of  his  body,  and  lience  shaved  his  head  for  cleanliness; 
yet  the  Hierophants  wore  their  hair  long.  The  Buddhist  still  shaves 
his  head  to  this  day — as  a  sig:n  of  scorn  for  life  and  healtli.  Yet 
Buddha,  after  shaviufj  his  hair  when  he  first  became  a  mendicant,  let 
it  prow  ajrain  and  is  always  n-prcsented  with  the  top-knot  of  a  Yogi. 
The  Hindu  priests  and  Brahmins,  and  almost  all  the  ca.stes,  shave  the 
rest  of  the  head  but  leave  a  long  lock  to  grow  from  the  center  of  the 
crown.  The  ascetics  of  Lidia  wear  their  hair  long,  and  so  do  the  war- 
like Sikhs,  and  almost  all  of  the  Mongolian  peoples.  At  Byzantium 
and  Rhodes  the  shaving  of  the  beard  was  prohibited  by  law.  and  in 
Sparta  the  cutting  of  the  beard  was  a  mark  of  slavery  and  servitude. 
Among  tiie  Scandinavians,  we  are  told,  it  was  considered  a  disgrace, 
"a  mark  of  infamy",  to  cut  oif  the  hair.  The  whole  population  of  the 
island  of  Ceylon  (the  Buddhist  Singhalese)  wear  their  hair  long.  So 
do  the  Russian.  Greek  and  Armenian  clergy,  and  monks.  Jesus  and 
the  Apostles  are  always  represented  with  their  hair  long,  but  fashion 
in  Christendom  proved  stronger  than  Christianity,  tiie  old  ecclesiastical 
rules  (Const it.  Ajwst.  lib.  I.  c.  3)  cnjoitiing  tiic  clergy  "to  wear  their 
hair  and  beards  long".  (See  Riddle's  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities.)  The 
Templars  were  commanded  to  wear  their  beards  long.  Samson  wore  his 
hair  long,  and  the  biblical  allegory  shows  that  health  and  strength  and 
the  very  life  are  connected  with  the  length  of  the  hair.  If  a  cat  is 
shaved  it  will  die  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten.  A  dog  whose  coat  is  not 
interfered    with    lives   lojiger   and    is   more    intelligent    than    one    whose 


GLOSSARY  123 

coat  is  shaven.  ^laiiy  old  people  as  they  lose  their  liair  lose  much  of 
their  memory  and  become  weaker.  Wliile  the  life  of  the  Yog:is  is 
j)i-overhialIy  lon^,  the  linddliist  priests  (of  Ceylon  and  elsewhenO  are 
not  j^enerally  lon<r-lived.  Mnssulmen  shave  tiieir  heads  but  wear  their 
beai-ds;  and  as  their  head  is  always  covered,  the  danprer  is  less. 

Hajaschar  (Ilch.).  The  Liprht  Foi-ces  in  the  Kabbalah;  the 
"Powers  of  Light",  whicli  are  the  creative  but  inferior  forces. 

Hakem.  Lit.,  "the  Wise  One",  the  ^Messiah  to  come,  of  tlie  Druzes 
or  the  "Disciples  of  Hamsa". 

Hakim  (Anih.).  A  doctor,  in  all  the  Eastern  countries,  from  Asia 
.Miiioi-  to  India. 

Halachah  (Urh.).  A  name  given  to  parts  of  the  Talmud,  whicli 
are  arfruiiKiits  on  points  of  doctrine;  the  word  means  "rule",   [w.w.w.] 

Hallucination.  A  state  produced  sometimes  by  jthysiological 
disorders,  sometimes  by  mcdiumship,  and  at  others  by  drunkenness. 
But  tlie  cause  that  produces  the  visions  has  to  be  sought  deeper  than 
physiology.  All  such  visions,  especially  when  produced  through 
mediumship,  are  preceded  by  a  relaxation  of  the  nervous  system,  in- 
variably generating  an  abnormal  magnetic  condition  which  attracts  to 
the  sufferer  waves  of  astral  light.  It  is  the  latter  that  furnishes  the 
various  hallucinations.  These,  however,  are  not  always  what  physicians 
would  make  them,  empty  and  unreal  dreams.  No  one  can  see  that 
which  does  not  exist — i.e.,  whicli  is  not  impressed — in  or  on  the  a.stral 
waves.  A  Seer  may,  however,  perceive  objects  and  scenes  (whether 
past,  present,  or  future)  which  have  no  relation  whatever  to  himself, 
and  also  perceive  several  things  entirely  disconnected  with  each  other 
at  one  and  the  same  time,  thus  ]n'oducing  the  most  grotesque  and 
absurd  combinations.  Both  drunkard  and  Seer,  medium  and  Adept, 
see  their  respective  visions  in  the  Astral  Light ;  but  while  the  drunk- 
ard, the  madman,  and  the  untrained  medium,  or  one  suffering  from 
brain-fever,  see,  because  they  cannot  help  it,  and  evoke  the  jumbled 
visions  unconsciously  to  themselves,  the  Adept  and  the  trained  Seer 
have  the  choice  and  the  control  of  such  visions.  They  know  where  to 
fix  their  gaze,  how  to  steady  the  scenes  they  want  to  observe,  and  how 
to  see  beyond  the  upper  outward  layers  of  the  Astral  Light.  With 
the  former  such  glimpses  into  the  ivavcs  are  hallucinations :  witii  the 
latter  they  become  the  faithful  reproduction  of  what  actually  has  been, 
is,  or  will  be,  taking  ]>lace.  The  glinijjses  at  random  caught  by  the 
medium,  and  his  Hick(>ring  visions  in  the  deceptive  light,  are  trans- 
formed under  the  guiding  will  of  the  Adei)t  and  Seer  into  steady  i>ic- 
tures,  the  truthful  representations  of  that  which  he  wills  to  come  within 
the  focus  of  his  perception. 

Hamsa  or  If  ansa  (Sk.).  "Swan  or  goose",  according  to  the  Orien- 
talists; a  mystical  bird  in  Occultism  analogous  to  the  Rosicrucian  Peli- 
can.    The  sacred  mystic  name  which,  when  preceded  by  that  of  K.\l.\ 


124  TIIKosdpill'    \l 

(intinitf  tiinej.  i.t.  Knlnhnnsd.  is  a  iiaiiir  t»t'  i'arahrahin  ;  iiu-aiiiii^;  the 
''Bird  out  of  spacr  ami  tiiiu  ".  Ilciicr  liralima  (male)  is  calltd  JIansa 
Vahiinii  **thr  Vt'liirlc  of  Ilaiisa"  (tin-  Hikd).  \V<'  find  tin-  sanu;  idea 
in  tilt'  Zohiir,  wlitrc  Ain  Siiph  (the  i-ikIU'ss  and  iiitinitt-i  is  saitl  t«» 
descj'iid  into  the  universe,  for  purposes  of  manifestation,  usinp  Adam 
Fvndnion    (ITuinanity)   as  a  ehariot  or  vehicle. 

Hamsa  (Ar<ih.).  The  founder  of  thr  mystic  sect  of  tin-  l)ru/.<'s  of 
•Mount  Lebanon.   (See  "Druzes"). 

Hangsa  (Sk.).  A  mystic  syllal)lc  standing'  for  rvolution.  and  nn'aii- 
\]\<:  in  its  literal  sens*-  "  I  am  In-",  or  Ahdmsa. 

Hansa  (Sk.).  The  name,  aeeoi-din}r  to  the  lihai/iDdtn  I'urnna,  of  th'' 
■■(>iii'  Caste"  when  there  wi're  as  yet  no  varieties  of  caste,  hiit  verily 
■  i>nr  Veda,  one  Deity  and  one  Caste". 

Hanuman  (Sk.).  The  monkey  {rod  of  the  h'<ini<iti(in(i :  the  (ft  mnil- 
issinio  of  Kama's  army;  son  of  Vayu,  the  {rod  of  the  wind,  and  of  a 
virtuous  she-demon.  Hanuman  was  the  faithful  ally  of  Ranui  and 
by  his  unparalleled  audacity  and  wit,  helped  the  Avatar  of  Vishnu  to 
Hnally  coiujuer  the  dem()n-kin{r  of  Lanka,  Ravana,  who  had  carried  ofl" 
the  beautiful  Sita,  Rama's  wife,  an  outrage  which  led  to  the  celebrated 
war  described  in  the  Hindu  epic  poem. 

Happy  Fields.  The  nanu-  {riven  by  the  Assyrio-C'haldeans  to 
their  Klysian  l"'iel(ls.  which  were  intermin{rled  with  their  Hades.  As  Mr. 
Boscawen  tells  iiis  readers — "The  Kin{Tdom  of  the  underworld  was  the 
realm  of  the  pod  Ilea,  and  the  Hades  of  the  Assyrian  le{rends  was  placed 
in  the  underworld  and  was  ruled  over  by  a  jroddess.  Nin-Ki«ral,  or 
'the  Lady  of  the  Great  Land'.  She  is  also  called  Allat."  A  translated 
inscription  states: — "After  the  g:ifts  of  these  i)re.sent  days,  in  the  fea.sts 
of  the  land  of  the  silver  sky,  the  resplcJident  courts,  the  abode  of  blessed- 
ness, and  in  the  li{rht  of  the  napi)y  Fields,  may  he  dwell  in  life  eternal, 
holy,  in  the  presence  of  the  gods  who  inhabit  Assyria".  This  is  worthy 
of  a  Christian  tumulary  inscription.  Ishtar,  the  beautiful  goddess,  de- 
scended into  Hades  after  her  luloved  Taiiunuz.  and  found  that  this  dark 
place  of  the  shades  had  seven  spheres  and  seven  gates,  at  ea<-li  of  whieli 
she  had  to  leave  sometiiing  belonging  to  her. 

Hara  (Sk.).     A  title  of  the  god  Siva. 

Hare-Worship.  The  hare  was  sacred  in  iiuiny  lands  and  espec- 
ially anions  the  Egyptians  and  Jews.  Though  the  latter  consider  it  an 
unclean,  hoofed  animal,  unfit  to  eat,  yet  it  was  held  sacred  by  some  tribes. 
The  reason  for  this  was  that  in  certain  species  of  hare  the  male  suckled 
the  little  ones.  It  was  thus  considered  to  be  androgynous  or  hermaphro- 
dite, and  so  typified  an  attribtite  of  the  D(  miiirr/r,  or  creative  TiOgos.  The 
hare  was  a  symbol  of  the  moon,  wherein  the  face  of  the  prophet  Moses  is 
to  be  .Seen  to  this  day.  say  the  Jews.  Moreover  the  moon  is  connected 
with  the  worship  of  Jeiiovah,  a  deity  {)re-eminently  the  god  of  generation, 
perhaps  also  for  the  same  reason  that  Eros,  the  god  of  sexual  love,  is 


GLOSSARY  125 

represented  fis  oarryinfr  a  hare.  The  hare  was  also  sacred  to  Osiris. 
Lenormand  writes  that  tlie  hare  "has  to  be  considered  as  the  symbol  of 
the  Logos  .  .  .  the  Logos  ought  to  be  hermaphrodite  and  we  know 
that  the  hare  is  an  androgynous  type". 

Hari  (Sk.).    A  title  of  Vishnu,  but  used  also  for  other  gods. 

Harikesa    (Sk.).     TIu-   nanif   of  one   of  the   seven   rays  of   the    Sim. 

Harivansa    (Sk.).      A    poi-tion    of   the   .Mohabharota,   a    poi-m   on   tli 
gt-nealofry  of  Vishnu,  or  Hari. 

Harmachus  (dr.).  The  Egyptian  Spliinx.  called  JI(ir<  m-i  ku  ov 
"Ilorus  (the  Sun)  in  the  Horizon",  a  form  of  Ra  the  sun-god;  esnti-r- 
ically  the  risen  god.  An  in.seription  on  a  tablet  reads:  "0  blessed  Ka- 
Harmachus!  Thou  careerest  by  him  in  triumph.  0  shine.  Amoun-Ra- 
Harmaehus  self-generated".  The  temple  of  the  Sphin.x  was  dis- 
covered by  Mariette  Bey  close  to  the  Sphinx,  near  the  great 
Pyramid  of  Gizeh.  All  tlie  Egyptologists  agree  in  ])ron()uneing  the 
Sphinx  and  her  temple  the  "oldest  religious  monument  of  the  world" — 
at  any  rate  of  Egypt.  "The  principal  chamber",  writes  the  late  Mr. 
Fergusson  "i«  the  form  of  a  cross,  is  supported  by  piers,  sunple  prisms 
of  Syenite  granite  without  base  or  capital  .  .  no  sculptures  or  in- 
scriptions of  any  sort  are  found  on  the  walls  of  this  temple,  no  orna- 
ment or  symbol  nor  any  image  in  the  sanctuary".  This  proves  the 
enormous  anticiuity  of  both  the  Sjihinx  and  the  t<'mple.  "The  great 
bearded  Sphinx  of  the  Pyramids  of  Gizeh  is  the  symbol  of  Harmachus. 
the  same  as  each  Egyptian  Pharaoh  who  bore,  in  the  inscriptions,  the 
name  of  'living  form  of  the  Solar  Sphinx  upon  the  Earth',"  writes 
Brugsh  Bey.  And  Renan  recalls  that  "at  one  time  the  Egyptians  were 
.said  to  have  temples  without  sculptured  images"  (Bonwick).  Not  only 
the  Egyptians  but  every  nation  of  the  earth  began  with  temples  devoid 
of  idols  and  even  of  syml)ols.  It  is  only  when  the  remembrance  of  the 
great  abstract  trutiis  and  of  the  primordial  Wisdom  taught  to  humanity 
by  the  d3'nasties  of  the  divine  kings  died  out  that  men  had  to  resort  to 
mementos  and  symbology.  In  the  story  of  Horus  in  some  tablets  of 
Edfou,  Rouge  found  an  inscription  showing  that  the  god  had  once  as- 
sumed "the  shape  of  a  human-headed  lion  to  gain  advantage  over  his 
enemy  Typhon.  Certainly  Ilorus  was  so  adored  in  Leontopolis.  He  is 
the  real  Sphinx.  That  accounts,  too,  for  the  lion  figure  being  sometimes 
seen  on  each  side  of  Isis.  .  .  It  was  her  child."  (Bonwick.)  And 
yet  the  story  of  Harmachus,  or  Har-em-chu,  is  still  left  untold  to  the 
world,  nor  is  it  likely  to  be  divulged  to  this  generation.  (See  "Sphinx".) 

Harpocrates  (Gr.).  The  child  Ilorus  or  Ehoou  represented  with 
a  finger  on  his  mouth,  the  .solar  disk  upon  his  head  and  golden  hair.  He 
is  the  "god  of  Silence"  and  of  Mystery.  (See  "Horus").  Harpocrates 
was  also  worshipped  In  both  Greeks  and  Romans  in  Europe  as  a  son  of 
Isis. 


12G  THEOSOI'JIlt  Al, 

Harshana  (SI:.).  A  dritv  pn'sidin^z  ovti-  olTn-iii'^'s  to  the  dtiKi,  or 
Sri'idillui. 

Harviri  (Kt/.).  llonis.  thi'  ehltr:  tin-  ancient  name  of  a  solar  trod: 
the  ri.siri«r  sun  rcprtscntod  as  a  prod  nu-linin}?  on  a  fidl-blowii  lotus,  the 
symbol  of  the  Tniverse. 

Haryaswas  (SI,-.).  Tlie  (ir»  and  h  n  thousand  sons  of  Daksha, 
who  instead  of  peoplinj;  the  world  as  desired  by  their  father,  all  beeann' 
yojris,  as  advis»*d  by  the  mysterious  sage  Narada.  and  remained  celibates. 
"They  dispersed  throufrh  the  regions  and  have  not  returned."  This 
means,  aeeording  to  the  .secret  science,  that  they  had  all  incarnated  in 
mortals.  The  name  is  given  to  natural  born  mystics  and  celibates,  who 
are  said  to  be  incarnations  of  the  "Haryaswas''. 

Hatchet.  In  the  Egyptian  Hieroglyphics  a  synd)ol  of  power,  and 
also  of  death.  The  hatchet  is  called  the  "Severer  of  the  Knot"  i.r.,  of 
marriage  or  aii\-  other  tie. 

Hatha  Yoga  (Sl,.).  The  lower  form  of  Yoga  practice;  one  which 
u.ses  physical  means  for  purposes  of  spiritual  self-development.  The 
oj)posite  of  Raja  Yoga. 

Hathor  (E(/.).  Tlie  lowei-  or  iiifei-nal  aspect  of  Isis,  corresponding 
to  the  Hecate  of  Greek  mythology. 

Hawk.  The  Hieroglyphic  aiul  type  of  tlie  Soul.  The  same  varies 
with  the  postures  of  the  bird.  Thus  when  lying  as  dead  it  represents 
the  transition,  larva  state,  or  the  pa.ssage  from  the  state  of  one  life  to 
another.  When  its  wings  are  opened  it  means  that  the  defunct  is  resur- 
rected in  Amenti  and  once  more  in  conscious  possession  of  his  soul.  The 
chry.salis  has  become  a  butterfly. 

Hayo  Bischat  (Hch.).  The  Beast,  in  the  Zohar-.  the  Devil  and 
TiriiptiT.     Esoterically  our  lower  animal  passions. 

Hay-yah  (Ilrh.).  One  of  the  metai)hysical  human  "Principles". 
Eastern  Occultists  divide  men  into  seven  such  Princii)les;  Western  Kab- 
balists,  we  are  told,  into  three  only — namely,  Ncpht  .sh,  Ruach  and  Ncs- 
hamah.  But  in  truth,  this  division  is  as  loose  and  as  mere  an  abbre- 
viation as  our  "Body,  Soul.  Spirit".  For.  in  the  Qahhalah  of  Myer 
(Zohar  ii.,  141.  h.,  Crnnona  Ed.  ii..  fol.  iV.\  h.,  col.  'J.')! )  it  is  stated  that 
Nrshamah  or  S[)irit  has  three  divisions,  "the  highest  being  Y<  'hrc-dah 
(Atma)  the  middle,  llay-i/ah  (Buddhi),  and  the  last  and  third,  the 
Ncshanmh,  properly  speaking  (Manas)".  Then  comes  Mah.fhahah, 
Thought  (th(^  lower  Manas,  or  con.scious  Personality),  In  which  the 
higher  then  manifest  themselves,  thus  making  four:  this  is  followed  by 
Tzilcm,  Phantom  of  the  Image  {Kama-rupa,  in  life  the  Kamic  element)  ; 
D'}foor]-)ioli,  Shadow  of  the  image  (Liiifja  Sharini,  the  Double)  ;  and  Zu 
rath.  Prototype,  which  is  Lift — sevI':x  in  all.  even  without  the  D'nioofh, 
Likeness  or  Similitude,  which  is  called  a  lower  manifestation,  and  is  in 
reality  the  Guf,  or  Body.  Theosophists  of  the  E,  S.  who  know  the  trans- 
position in:ule  of  Atma  and  the  part  taken  by  the  auric  pi-ototype.  W'ill 


GLOSSARY  127 

casilv  find  wliicli  ai'c  tlic  n  at  s(  rt  ii,  and  assiiiT  tliPinst'lvcs  tluit  Iwlwrni 
the  division  of  Principles  of  the  Eastern  Occultists  and  that  of  the  real 
p]astt'rii  Kal)l)alists  there  is  no  difference.  Do  not  let  us  for^ret  tliat 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other  are  prepared  to  <rive  out  the  real  and  final 
elassifioation  in  their  public  writings. 

Hay-yoth  ha  Qadosh  (II(h.).  The  holy  li\-in<r  creatures  <»f 
Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  Mtrhahdh,  or  vehicle,  or  chariot.  These  are  the 
four  .symbolical  beasts,  the  cherubim  of  Ezekiel,  and  in  the  Zo<liac  Tau- 
rus, Leo,  Seori)io  (or  the  Eagle),  and  Aquarius,  the  man. 

Hea  (Chald.).  The  god  of  the  Deep  and  the  rnderworld  ;  smne  -se.- 
in  him  Ea  or  Cannes,  the  fish-man,  or  Dragon. 

Heabani  (Chald.).  A  famous  astrologer  at  the  Court  of  Izdubar. 
frequently  mentioned  in  the  fragments  of  the  As.syrian  tablets  in  ref»'r- 
ence  to  a  dream  of  Izdubar,  the  great  Babylonian  King,  or  Nimrod,  the 
"mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord".  After  his  death,  his  soul  being 
unable  to  rest  underground,  the  ghost  of  Heabani  was  raised  l)y  Mero- 
daeh,  the  god,  his  body  restored  to  life  and  then  transferi-ed  (ilivr,  liki- 
Elijah,  to  the  regions  of  the  Blessed. 

Head  of  all  Heads  (Hah.).  Used  of  the  "Ancient  of  the  An- 
cients" Attickah  D'attcrkco),  who  is  the  "Hidden  of  the  Hidden,  the 
Concealed  of  the  Concealed".  In  this  cranium  of  the  "AVhite  Head". 
Rcsha  Hivrak,  "dwell  daily  13,000  myriads  of  worlds,  which  rest  upon 
It,  lean  upon  It"  (Zohar  Hi.  Idrah  Rahhah).  .  .  "In  that  Attcckah 
nothing  is  revealed  except  the  Head  alone,  because  it  is  the  Head  of  all 
Heads.  .  .  The  "Wisdom  above,  which  is  the  Head,  is  hidden  in  it. 
tlie  Brain  Avhich  is  tranquil  and  quiet,  and  none  knows  it  but  Itself. 
.  And  this  Hidden  Wisdom  .  .  .  the  Concealed  of  the 
Concealed,  the  Head  of  all  Heads,  a  IL  ad  which  is  not  a  Head,  nor  does 
any  one  know,  nor  is  it  ever  known,  what  is  in  that  Head  which  Wisdom 
and  Reason  cannot  comprehend"  (Zohar  iii.,  fol.  288  a)  This  is  said 
of  the  Deity  of  which  the  Head  {i.e..  Wisdom  "perceived  by  all)  is  alone 
manifested.  Of  that  Princii)le  which  is  still  higher  nothing  is  even  predi- 
cated, except  that  its  universal  presence  and  actuality  are  a  philosophical 
necessity. 

Heavenly  Adam.  The  synthesis  of  the  Sejihirothal  Tree,  or  of 
all  the  Forces  in  Nature  and  their  informing  deitic  essence.  In  the  dia- 
grams, the  Seventh  of  the  lower  Sephiroth,  Sephira  Mtdkhooth — the 
Kingdom  of  Harmony — represents  the  feet  of  the  idi-al  ^Macrocosm, 
whose  head  reaches  to  the  first  manifested  Head.  This  Heavenly  Adam 
is  the  natura  )taf}irans,  the  abstract  world,  while  the  Adam  of  Earth 
(Humanity)  is  the  natura  naturata  or  the  material  universe.  The  for- 
mer is  the  presence  of  Deity  in  its  univi'rsal  essence ;  the  latter  the  mani- 
festation of  the  intelligence  of  that  essence.  In  the  real  Zohar — not  the 
fantastic  and  anthroj)omorphic  caricature  which  we  often  find  in  the 
writings  of  Western   Kabbalists — there  is  not  a  partie1t>  of  the  personal 


128  TlIKo.SDl'illt  AL 

<l.it>    whirli   \\r  liiul  so  proiiuiicnt    in  the  dark  cloaking  of  the  Secret 
Wisdom  known  as  the  Mosaic  Pentat»'ncli. 

Hebdomad    \(,'r.i.       The  Septenary. 

Hebron  oi-  Kirjtith-AHxi.  The  city  of  the  Four  Krheiri,  for  Kir 
jtith-Arhn  si-rnilirs  "the  City  of  the  Four".  Tt  is  in  that  city,  accordinfr 
to  the  h^fjj'nd.  that  an  Isarim  or  an  Initiate  found  the  famous  Smarajr- 
dine  tablet  on  the  dead  body  of  Hermes. 

Hel  or  Tffla  (Scand).  The  Ooddess-Qurcn  of  th.-  Land  of  tli.-  D.-ad: 
the  inserntal)le  and  direful  Rt'in<:  who  reiprns  over  the  depths  of  Ilclheiin 
and  Xifelheim.  In  the  earlier  mytholopry,  Ilel  was  the  earth-poddess. 
the  good  and  beneficent  mother,  nourisher  of  the  weary  and  the  hunpry. 
Rut  in  the  later  Skalds  she  became  the  female  Pluto,  the  dark  Qu(»en  of 
thi'  Kiufrdom  of  Shades,  she  who  brought  death  into  this  world,  and 
sorrow  afterwards. 

Helheim  (Scand.).  The  Kingdom  of  the  Dead  in  the  Norse  myth- 
ology. In  the  E(Ma.  Ilelheim  surrounds  the  Northern  Mistworld,  called 
Nifelheim. 

Heliolatry  (<rr.).     Sun-Worsliii). 

Hell.  A  term  with  tlie  Anglo-Sa.xons.  cvidi-ntly  dn-ived  from  tli.- 
name  of  the  goddess  Hrla  {q.v.)  and  by  the  Selavonians  from  the  Greek 
Hades:  hell  being  in  Ru.ssian  and  other  Sclavonian  tongues — dd,  the 
only  difference  between  the  Scandinavian  cold  bell  and  the  hot  hell  of 
the  Christians,  being  found  in  their  respective  temperatures.  But  even 
the  idea  of  tho.se  overheated  regions  is  not  original  with  the  ?]uropeans. 
many  peoples  having  entertained  the  conception  of  an  underworld  cli- 
mate;  as  well  may  we  if  we  localise  our  Hell  in  the  center  of  the  earth. 
All  exoteric  religions — the  creeds  of  the  Brahmans,  Buddhists,  Zoroast- 
rians  ]\Iahommedans,  Jews,  and  the  rest,  make  their  hells  hot  and  dark, 
though  many  are  more  attractive  than  frightful.  The  idea  of  a  hot  hell 
is  an  afterthought,  the  distortion  of  an  astronomical  allegory.  With  the 
Egyptians.  Hell  became  a  place  of  punishment  by  Hre  not  earlier  than 
the  .seventeenth  or  eighteenth  dynasty,  when  Typhon  was  transformed 
from  a  god  into  a  devil.  But  at  whatever  time  this  dread  superstition 
was  implanted  in  the  minds  of  the  poor  ignorant  masses,  the  scheme  of 
a  burning  hell  and  souls  tormented  therein  is  ]iurely  Egyptian.  Ra  (the 
Sun)  became  the  Lord  of  the  Furnace  in  AV/rr,  the  liell  of  the  Pharaohs, 
and  the  sinner  was  threatened  with  misery  "in  the  heat  of  infernal  fires"'. 
"A  lion  was  there"  .says  Dr.  Birch  "and  was  called  the  roaring  mons- 
ter". Another  describes  the  place  as  "the  bottomless  pit  and  lake  of 
fire,  into  which  the  victims  are  thrown"  (compare  Revelation).  The 
Iltbrew  word  r/ai-hiitiioni  (Gehenna)  never  really  had  the  significance 
given  to  it  in  Christian  orthodoxy. 

Hemadri  fSk.).    The  golden  Mountain;  Meiu. 


tiLUSSARY  129 

Hemera  (Gr.).  "Tlic  light  of  tin-  iiiffrior  or  tern-strial  rt-nrions"' 
as  Ether  is  tlie  light  of  the  superior  heavenly  spheres.  Both  are  horn 
of  Er(hos  (darkness)  and  Nux  (night). 

Heptakis  \Gr.).  "The  Seven-rayed  One"  of  the  Chaldean  astrolaters: 
the  same  as  Iao. 

Herakles  (Gr.).    The  same  as  Hercules. 

Heranasikha  (Sing.).  From  Hcrana  "novice"  and  Sikhu  "rvili"  or 
precept :  manual  of  Precepts.  A  work  written  in  EIu  or  the  ancit-nt 
Singhalese,  for  the  use  of  young  priests. 

Hermanubis  (Gr.).  Or  Hermes  Anubis  "the  revealer  of  the  mys- 
teries of  the  lower  world" — not  of  Hell  or  Hades  as  interpreted,  but  of 
our  Earth  (the  lowest  world  of  the  Septenary  chain  of  worlds) — and 
also  of  the  sexual  mysteries.  Creuzer  must  have  guessed  at  tiie  truth 
of  the  right  interpretation,  as  he  calls  Anubis-Thoth-Hermes  "a  symbol 
of  science  and  of  the  intellectual  world".  He  was  always  represented 
with  a  cross  in  his  hand,  one  of  the  earliest  symbols  of  the  mystery  of 
generation,  or  procreation  on  this  earth.  In  the  Chaldean  Kabbala 
(Book  of  Niimhcrs)  the  Tat  symbol,  or  +,  is  referred  to  as  Adam  and 
Eve,  the  latter  being  the  transverse  or  horizontal  bar  drawn  out  of  the 
side  (or  rib)  of  JIadam,  the  perpendicular  bar.  Tiie  fact  is  that,  esoter- 
ically,  Adam  and  Eve  while  representing  the  early  third  Root  Race — 
those  who,  being  still  mindless,  imitated  the  animals  and  degraded  them- 
.selves  with  the  latter — stand  also  as  the  dual  symbol  of  the  sexes.  Hence 
Anubis,  the  Egyptian  god  of  generation,  is  rei)resented  with  the  head  of 
an  animal,  a  dog  or  a  jackal,  and  is  also  said  to  be  the  "Lord  of  the 
under  world"  or  "Hades"  into  which  he  introduces  the  souls  of  the 
(lead  (the  reincarnating  entities),  for  Hades  is  in  one  sense  tiie  womb,  as 
some  of  the  wi-itings  of  the  Church  Fathers  fully  show'. 

Hermaphrodite  (Gr.).  Dual-sexed ;  a  male  and  female  Ri-ing. 
whether  man  or  animal. 

Hermas  (Gr.).  An  ancient  Greek'  writer  of  whose  works  only  a 
few  fragments  are  now  extant. 

Hermes-fire.  The  same  as  "Elmes-fire".  (See  Isis  rnvrilcd  Vol. 
I.,  p.  125  I. 

Hermes  Sarameyas  (Greco-Sanskrit).  The  God  Hermes,  or  ]\Iercury, 
"lie  who  watches  over  tht^   Hock  of  stars"   in   the  Greek  mytliology. 

Hermes  Trismegistus  (Gr.).  The  "thrice  great  Hermes",  the 
Kgyptian.  Tli<'  mythical  personage  after  whom  the  Hermetic  philosophy 
was  named.  In  Egypt  the  God  Thoth  or  Thot.  A  generic  name  of 
many  ancient  Greek  writers  on  philosophy  and  Alchemy.  Hermes  Tris- 
megistus is  the  name  of  Hermes  or  Thoth  in  his  human  aspect,  as  a 
god  he  is  far  more  than  this.  .l.s-  Hermes-Thoth-Aah,  lie  is  Thoth.  the 
moon,  i.e.,  his  symbol  is  the  bright  side  of  the  moon,  supposed  to  contain 
the  essence  of  creative  Wisdom,  "the  elixir  of  Hermes".     As  sucli  lie  is 


130  TJIKi).S()l'JIKAL 

associated  with  tin-  I'ynoci'jilialus.  the  (lojr-licadi'il  inoiikoy.  for  tlio  sann^ 
reason  as  was  Aiiuhis,  one  of  tlie  aspi'fts  of  Thotli.  (See  "Ilcnnamibis",) 
The  same  idea  underlies  tlie  form  of  the  Hindu  God  of  Wisdom,  the 
elephaut-lieaded  Ganesa.  or  Ganpat,  the  son  of  Parvati  and  Siva.  (See 
"Ganesa".)  When  lie  has  the  head  of  an  ibis,  he  is  the  sacred  seribe  of 
the  gods;  but  t'ven  then  he  wears  the  erown  aiff  and  the  luiuir  disk. 
He  is  the  most  mysterious  of  {^ods.  As  a  serpent.  Hermes  Thoth  is  the 
diviiH'  ert-ative  Wisdom.  The  Church  P^athers  sjxmU  ;it  length  of 
Thoth-Hermes.     (See  "Hermetic".) 

Hermetic.  Any  doctrine  or  writing  i-onneeted  with  the  esoteric 
teachings  of  Hermes,  who.  whether  as  the  Egyptian  Thoth  or  the  Gn'ek 
Hermes,  was  the  God  of  Wisdom  with  the  Ancients,  and,  according  to 
Plato,  "discovered  numbers,  geometry,  astronomy  and  letters".  Though 
mostly  considered  as  spurious,  nevertheless  the  Hermetic  writings  were 
highly  prized  by  St.  Augustine,  Lactantius,  Cyril  and  others.  In  the 
words  of  Mr.  J.  Bonwick,  "They  are  more  or  less  touched  up  by  the 
Platonie  i)hilosophers  among  the  early  Christians  (such  as  Origen  and 
Clemens  Alexandriiuis)  who  souglit  to  substantiate  their  Christian  argu- 
ments by  ai)peals  to  these  heathen  and  revered  writings,  though  they 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  making  them  say  a  little  too  much". 
Though  represented  by  some  clever  and  interested  writers  as  teaching 
jnire  monotheism,  the  Hermetic  or  Trismegistic  books  are,  nevertheless, 
purely  pantheistic.  The  Deity  referred  to  in  them  is  defined  by  Paul  as 
that  in  ichich  "we  live,  and  move  and  have  our  being" — notwithstanding 
the  "in  Him"  of  the  translators. 

Hetu  (SkJ.    A  natural  or  physical  cau.se. 
Heva  (Ilrb.).    Eve,  "the  mother  of  all  that  lives". 
Hiarchas  (Gr.).     The  King  of  the  "Wise  Men",  in  the  .lourney  of 
Aixtlloiiius  of  T.xana  to  India. 

Hierogrammatists.  The  title  given  to  those  Egy])tiaii  priests  who 
were  entrusted  with  the  writing  and  reading  of  the  sacred  and  secret 
records.  The  ".scribes  of  the  secret  records"  literally.  They  were  the 
instructors  of  the  neophytes  preparing  for  initiation. 

Hierophant.  From  the  Greek  "Hierophantes" :  literally,  "One 
who  ex|)lains  sacred  things".  The  discloser  of  sacred  learning  and  the 
Chief  of  the  Initiates.  A  title  belonging  to  the  highest  Adepts  in  the 
temples  of  antiquity,  who  were  the  teachers  and  expounders  of  the 
Mysteries  and  the  Initiators  into  the  final  great  Mysteries.  The  Hiero- 
phant represented  the  Demiurge,  and  explained  to  the  postulants  for 
Initiation  the  various  phenomena  of  Creation  tiiat  were  produced  for 
their  tuition.  "He  was  the  sole  exi)oun(ler  of  the  esoteric  .secrets  and 
doctrines.  It  was  forbidden  even  to  pronounce  his  name  before  an  un- 
initiated person.  He  sat  in  the  East,  and  wore  as  a  symbol  of  authority 
a  golden  globe  suspended  from  the  neck.  He  was  also  called  Mi/stagogus" 
(Kenneth  R.  H.  Mackenzie,  ix.,  F.  T.  S.,  in  Thr  Roijal  Moso)ii<'  Cyclo- 


ciLossAin'  131 

pa-dia).  In  Hebrew  and  Clialdaic  tlic  ttrni  was  I'litr,  the  opener,  dis- 
closer;  hence  (the  Pope  as  the  successor  of  the  hierophant  of  the  ancient 
Mysteries,  sits  in  the  Pagan  cliair  of  St.  Peter.) 

Higher  Self.  Tiie  Supreme  Divine  Spirit  oversliadowinpr  man.  The 
crown  of  the  upper  sjiiritual  Triad  in  man — Atmfin. 

Hillel.  A  great  Babylonian  Kal)l)i  of  the  century  i)reeeding  thi- 
Cliristian  era.  He  was  tiie  founder  of  tlie  sect  of  tlic  Pharisees,  a 
h,^arned  and  a  sainted  man. 

Himachala  Himadri  (Sk.).     The  Himalayan  Mountains. 

Himavat  (Sh-j.  The  personified  Himalayas;  the  father  of  the  river 
<}anga,  or  Ganges. 

Hinayana  (Sk.).  Tiie  "Smaller  Vehicle";  a  Scripture  and  a 
School  of  the  Northern  Buddhists,  opposed  to  the  Mahayana,  "the 
Greater  Vehicle",  in  Tibet.  Both  schools  are  mystical.  (See  "^lahay- 
ana").    Also  in  exoteric  superstition  the  lowest  form  of  transmigration. 

Hiouen  Thsang".  A  great  Chinese  writer  and  philosopher  who 
travelled  in  India  in  the  sixth  century,  in  order  to  learn  more  about 
Buddhism,  to  which  he  was  devoted. 

Hippocrates  (Or.).  A  famous  physician  of  Cos,  one  of  the  Cy- 
elades,  who  flourished  at  Athens  during  the  invasion  of  Artaxerxes,  and 
ilelivered  that  to^^^l  from  a  dreadful  pestilence.  He  was  called  "the 
father  of  Medicine".  Having  studied  his  art  from  the  votive  tablets 
offered  by  the  cured  patients  at  the  temples  of  ^^sculapius,  he  became  an 
Initiate  and  the  most  proficient  healer  of  his  day,  so  much  so  that  he 
was  almost  deified.  His  learning  and  knowledge  were  enormous.  Galen 
says  of  his  writings  that  they  are  truly  the  voice  of  an  oracle.  He  died 
in  his  100th  year  361  B.C. 

Hippopotamus  ((Gr.).  In  Egyptian  symbolism  Typhon  was  called 
■'the  hippopotamus  who  slew  his  father  and  violated  his  mother,"  Rhea 
(mother  of  the  Gods).  His  father  was  Chronos.  As  applied  therefore  to 
Time  and  Nature  (Chronos  and  Rhea),  the  accusation  becomes  cora- 
jirehensible.  The  type  of  Cosmic  Disharmony.  Typhon,  who  is  also 
Python,  the  monster  formed  of  the  slime  of  the  Deluge  of  Deucalion, 
"violates"  his  mother.  Primordial  Harmony,  whose  beneficence  was  so 
great  that  she  was  called  "The  Mother  of  the  Golden  Age".  It  was 
Typhon,  who  put  an  end  to  the  latter,  i.e.,  produced  the  first  war  of  the 
elements. 

Hiquet  (Eij.).  The  frog-goddess;  one  of  tile  symi)ois  of  immortality 
and  of  the  "water"  principle.  Tiie  early  Cliristians  had  their  church 
lamps  made  in  tiie  form  of  a  frog,  to  denote  tiiat  baptism  in  water  li'd  to 
immortality. 

Hiram     Abiff.     A     i)il)iical     personage;     a     skilful     imilder     and     a 

"Widow's   Son",   wiiom   King   Solomon   procured   from   Tyre,   for  the 

purpose  of  superintending  the  works  of  tiie  Temple,  and  who  became 


132  TIIEf>«nPHI(\\L 

later  a  tnasuiiic  cliariH-tir.  tlic  hern  on  wlioin  hanj^'s  all  tin*  drama,  or 
rathor  play,  of  the  Masonic  Third  Initiation.  The  Kabbala  makes  a 
{^rrat  deal  of  Hiram  Abiflf. 

Hiranya    tSli.i.      Radiant,   trulden.    used    nf   tin-   "K^:;:   of    JirahnuV. 

Hiranya  Garbha  (Sk.).  The  radiant  or  jrolden  efrjr  or  womb. 
Esoterieally  the  liiininons  "fire  mist''  or  ethereal  stnfT  from  which  the 
Fniverse  was  formed. 

Hiranyakasipu  (Sk.).  A  Kin<_'  of  the  Daityas.  whom  Vishnu--in 
his  (irntdr  of  the  "man-lion" — puts  to  death. 

Hiranyaksha  (Sk.).  "The  {rolden-eyed"".  The  kinj,'  and  ruler 
of  the  oth  refjion  of  Patala.  the  nether-world  :  a  snake-god  in  the  Hindu 
Pantlieciii.     It  has  various  other  meanings. 

Hiranyapura  (Sk.).     The  Golden  City. 

Hisi  (Fin.).  The  "  rriueii)le  df  Hvil  "  in  \\\i'/\(ih  luiln,  the  epic  poem 
iif  Firdand. 

Hitopadesa  (Sk.).  "Good  Adviee".  A  work  eompo.sed  of  a  col- 
lection of  ethical  precepts,  allegories  and  other  tales  from  an  old  Script- 
ure, the  Panchatanira. 

Hivim  or  Vhivim  (Ihh.).  Whence  tiie  Ilivites  who.  according  to 
some  Roman  Catholic  commentators,  descend  from  Heth.  son  of  Canaan, 
son  of  Ham,  "the  accursed".  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg,  the  missionary 
translator  of  the  Scripture  of  the  Guatemalians,  the  Popol  Vuh,  indulges 
in  the  theory  that  the  Hivim  of  the  Qudzo  CohuatI,  the  Mexican  Serpent 
Deity,  and  the  "descendants  of  Serpents"  as  they  call  themselves,  are 
identical  with  the  descendants  of  Ham  (!!)  "whose  ancestor  is  Cain". 
Such  is  th(*  conclusion,  at  any  rate,  drawn  from  Bourbourg 's  writings 
by  Des  ]\Iousseaux.  the  demonologist.  Bour])ourg  hints  that  the  chiefs 
of  the  name  of  Votan.  the  Quetzo  CohuatI.  are  the  descendants  of  Ham 
and  Canaan.  "I  am  Hivim",  they  say.  "Being  a  Hivim,  I  am  of  the 
great  Race  of  the  Dragons.  I  am  a  snake,  myself,  for  I  am  Hivam" 
(Cortes  51).  But  Cain  is  allegorically  shown  as  the  ancestor  of  the 
Hivites,  the  Serpents,  because  Cain  is  held  to  have  been  the  first  initi/itt 
in  the  vn/stery  of  procreation.  The  "race  of  the  Dragons"  or  Serpents 
means  the  Wise  Adepts.  Tiie  names  Jlivi  or  Hivite.  and  Levi — signify  a 
"Serpent";  and  the  Hivites  or  Serpent-tribe  of  Palestine,  were,  like  all 
Lcvites  and  Opiiites  of  Israel,  initiated  ^linisters  to  the  temples,  i.e.. 
Occultists,  as  are  the  priests  of  Quetzo  CohuatI.  The  Gibeonites  whom 
Joshua  a.ssigned  to  the  service  of  the  .<!n)icti(nn/  wei-e  Hivites.  (See  /.m 
Unvcilrel  Vol.  II.  481.) 

Hler  (Seand.).  The  god  of  the  sea.  One  of  the  three  mighty  sons 
of  the  Frost-giant,  Ymir,  These  sons  were  Kari,  god  of  the  air  and  the 
storms;  Hler  of  the  Sea;  and  Logi  of  the  Fire.     They  are  the  Cosmic 

trinity  of  the  Xor.semen. 


ULOSSAKV  138 

Hoa  (Jlib.J.  Tliat,  from  wliicli  procft-ils  Ah.  tin-  "Father";  thiTc- 
fore  the  Couceakd  Logos. 

Hoang  Ty  (Chin.).  "The  Great  Spirit".  His  Suns  are  said  to  have 
Hcquind  new  wisdom,  and  imparted  what  they  knew  before  to  mortals, 
by  falling — like  the  rebellious  angels — into  the  "Valley  of  Pain",  which 
is  allegorically  our  Earth.  In  other  words  they  are  identical  with  the 
"Fallen  Angels"  of  exoteric  religions,  and  witli  the  reincarnating  Egos, 
esotcrically. 

Hochmah  ilhl).).     See  "('hochniair'. 

Hod  (II(b.).  Splendour,  the  eighth  of  the  ten  Sepiroth  a  female 
passive  potency,  [w.w.w.] 

Holy  of  Holies.  The  As.syriologists,  ^Egyptologists,  and  Orien- 
talists, in  general,  show  that  such  a  place  existed  in  every  temple  of 
antiquity.  Tlie  great  temple  of  Bel-]\Ierodach  whose  sides  faced  the 
four  cardinal  points,  had  in  its  extreme  end  a  "Holy  of  Holies"  hidden 
from  the  profane  by  a  veil:  here,  "at  the  beginning  of  the  year  'the 
divine  king  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  lord  of  the  iicavens,  seats  himself." 
According  to  Herodotus,  here  was  the  golden  image  of  the  god  with  a 
golden  table  in  front  like  the  Hebrew  table  for  the  sliew  bread,  and  upon 
this,  food  appears  to  have  been  placed.  In  some  temples  there  also  was 
"a  little  coffer  or  ark  with  two  engraved  stone  tablets  on  it".  (Myer's 
Qahhalah.)  In  short,  it  is  now  pretty  well  proven,  that  the  "chosen 
people"  had  nothing  original  of  their  own,  but  that  every  detail  of  their 
ritualism  and  religion  was  borrowed  from  older  nations.  The  Hihhcrt 
Lectures  by  Prof.  Sayce  and  others  show  this  abundantly.  The  story  of 
the  birth  of  Moses  is  that  of  Sargon,  the  Babylonian,  who  preceded 
Moses  by  a  couple  of  thousand  years;  and  no  wonder,  as  Dr.  Sayce  tells 
us  that  the  name  of  ]Moses,  Moshch,  has  a  connection  with  the  name  of 
the  Babylonian  sun-god  as  the  "hero"  or  "leader".  {Hih.  Led.,  p.  46 
et  seq.)  Says  Mr.  J.  Myer,  "The  orders  of  the  priests  were  divided  into 
high  priests,  those  attached  or  bound  to  certain  deities,  like  the  Hebrew 
Levites;  anointers  or  cleaners;  tiie  Kali,  'illustrious'  or  'elders';  the 
soothsayers,  and  the  Makhkhu  or  'great  one',  in  which  Prof.  Delitzsch 
sees  the  liah-mag  of  the  Old  Testament.  .  .  The  Akkadians  and 
Chaldeans  kept  a  Sabbath  day  of  rest  every  seven  days,  they  also  had 
thanksgiving  days,  and  days  for  humiliation  and  prayer.  There  were 
sacrifices  of  vegetables  and  animals,  of  meats  and  wine.  .  .  .  The 
number  seven  was  especially  sacred.  .  .  .  The  great  temple  of 
Babylon  existed  long  before  2,250  b.c.  Its  'Holy  of  Holies'  was  with- 
in the  shrine  of  Xebo,  the  prophet  god  of  wisdom.'"  It  is  from  the 
Akkadians  that  the  god  Mardak  passed  to  the  Assyrians,  and  he  had 
been  before  Merodach,  "the  merciful",  of  the  Babylonians,  the  only 
son  and  interpreter  of  the  will  of  Ea  or  Ilea,  the  great  Deity  of  Wisdom. 
The  Assyriologists  have,  in  short,  unveiled  the  whole  sclieme  of  the 
''chosen  people". 


134  THEOSOPniCAL 

Holy  Water.  'I'liis  is  oih'  of  the  oldest  i-itcs  pi-actiscd  in  K^'xpt. 
and  thence  in  Pa<;an  Rome.  It  aeeoinpanied  tlie  rite  of  l)rcn(l  and  wine. 
"Holy  water  was  si)rinkled  by  the  E^fyi)tian  priest  alike  upon  his  gods' 
imajjes  and  the  faithful,  it  was  both  poured  and  sprinkled.  A  brush 
has  been  found,  supposed  to  have  been  used  for  that  purpose,  as  at  this 
day."  (Bon wick's  Egi/ptian  Belief).  As  to  the  bread,  "the  cakes  of  Isis 
.  .  were  placed  upon  the  altar.  Gliddon  writi's  that  they  were 
'identical  in  shai)e  with  the  consecrated  cake  of  the  Roman  and  Eastern 
Churches'.  ^Melville  assures  us  'the  Egyptians  marked  this  lioly  bread 
with  St.  Andrew's  cross'.  The  Presence  bread  was  broken  before  being 
distributed  by  the  priests  to  the  people,  and  was  supposed  to  become  the 
fle.sli  and  blood  of  the  Deity.  The  miracle  was  wrought  by  the  hand  of 
the  officiating  priest,  who  blessed  the  food.  .  .  Rouge  tells  us  'the 
bread  offerings  bear  the  imprint  of  the  fingers,  the  mark  of  consecra- 
tion'."   {Ibid,  page  418.)    (See  also  "Bread  and  Wine".) 

Homogeneity.  From  the  Greek  words  homos  "the  same"  and 
genos  "kind".  That  which  is  of  the  same  nature  throughout,  undif- 
ferentiated, non-compound,  as  gold  is  supposed  to  be. 

Honir  (Scand.).  A  creative  god  who  furnished  the  first  man  with 
intellect  and  understanding  after  man  had  been  created  by  him  jointly 
with  Odin  and  Lodur  from  an  ash  tree. 

Honover  (Zned).   The  Persian  Logos,  the  manifested  Word. 

Hor  Ammon  (Eg.).  "The  Self-engendered",  a  w^ord  in  theogony 
which  answers  to  the  Sanskrit  Anupadaka,  parentless.  Hor-Ammon  is  a 
combination  of  the  ram-headed  god  of  Thebes  and  of  Horus. 

Horchia  (Chfthl.).  According  to  Berosus,  the  same  as  Vesta,  god- 
dess of  the  Hearth. 

Horus  (Eg.).  Tlie  last  in  the  line  of  divine  Sovereigns  in  Egypt, 
said  to  be  the  son  of  Osiris  and  Isis.  He  is  the  great  god  "loved  of 
Heaven",  the  "beloved  of  the  Sun,  the  offspring  of  the  gods,  the  subju- 
gator of  the  world".  At  the  time  of  the  Winter  Solstice  (our  Christ- 
mas), his  image,  in  the  form  of  a  small  newly-born  infant,  was  brought 
out  from  the  sanctuarj^  for  the  adoration  of  the  worshipping  crowds.  As 
he  is  the  type  of  the  vault  of  lieaven,  he  is  said  to  have  come  from  the 
Maem  Misi,  the  sacred  birth-place  (the  womb  of  the  World),  and  is, 
therefore,  the  "mystic  Child  of  the  Ark"  or  the  argha,  the  symbol  of  the 
matrix,  Cosmically,  he  is  the  Winter  Sun.  A  tablet  describes  him  as 
the  "substance  of  his  father",  Osiris,  of  whom  he  is  an  incarnation  and 
also  identical  with  him.  Horus  is  a  chaste  deity,  and  "like  Apollo  has 
no  amours.  His  part  in  the  lower  world  is  associated  with  the  Judgment. 
He  introduces  souls  to  his  father,  the  Judge"  (Bonwiek).  An  ancient 
hymn  says  of  him,  "By  him  the  world  is  judged  in  that  which  it  con- 
tains. Heaven  and  earth  are  under  his  immediate  presence.  He  rules 
all  human  beings.     The  sun  goes  round  according  to  his  purpose.     He 


GLOSSAHV  135 

brings  forth  abundance  and  dispenses  it  to  all  tlu-  »-artli.    Kv.-ry   on*- 
adores  his  beauty.    Sweet  is  his  love  in  us." 

Hotri  (8k.).  A  priest  who  recitrs  the  liyiiins  from  tht-  h'ig  Wda. 
and  makes  oblations  to  the  fire. 

Hotris  (Sk.).  A  symbolical  name  for  the  seven  senses  called,  in 
the  Anugita  "the  Seven  Priests".  "The  senses  supply  the  fire  of  mind 
(i.e.,  desire)  with  the  oblations  of  cxtrrnal  pleasures".  An  occult  term 
used  metaphysically. 

Hrimthurses  (Scaiid.).  The  Frost-jriants:  Cyclopean  builders  in 
the  Edda. 

Humanity.  Occultly  ami  Kabbalistically.  the  whole  (»f  mankind  is 
symbolized,  by  Mann  in  India;  by  Va.irasattva  or  Dorj<  s(  mpa,  the  head 
of  the  Seven  Dhyani,  in  Northern  Buddhism;  and  by  Adam  Kadmon  in 
the  Kabbala.  All  these  represent  the  totality  of  mankind  whose  bcg:in- 
ning  is  in  this  androjjynic  protoplast,  and  whose  end  is  in  the  Ab.<;olut(, 
beyond  all  these  symbols  and  myths  of  human  origin,  riumanity  is  a 
great  Brotherhood  by  virtue  of  the  sameness  of  the  material  from  which 
it  is  formed  physically  and  morall\-.  Unless,  however,  it  becomes  a 
Brotherhood  also  intellectually,  it  is  no  better  tiian  a  superior  genus  of 
animals. 

Hun-desa    (Sk.).      The    country    ai-ound    lake    Mausaravara    in    Tibet. 

Hvanuatha  (Mazd.).  The  name  of  the  eartii  on  which  we  live. 
One  of  tlie  seven  Karshvan  (Earths),  spoken  of  in  Orwa  Ahr.  (See 
Introduction  to  the  Vendidad  by  Prof.  Darmsteter). 

Hwergelmir  (Scand.).  A  roaring  cauldron  wherein  the  souls 
of  the  evil  doers  perish. 

Hwun  (Chin.).    Spirit.     The  same  as  Atman. 

Hydranos  (Or.).  Lit.,  the  "Baptist".  A  name  of  the  ancient 
Hierophant  of  the  Mysteries  who  made  the  candidate  pass  through  the 
"trial  by  water",  wherein  lie  was  plunged  thrice.  This  was  his  baptism 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  which  moves  on  the  waters  of  Space.  Paul  refers  to 
St.  John  as  Hydranos,  the  Baptist.  The  Christian  Church  took  this  rite 
from  the  ritualism  of  tlie  Eleusinian  and  other  Mysteries. 

Hyksos  (Eg.).  The  mysterious  nomads,  the  Shepherds,  who  invaded 
Egypt  at  a  period  unknown  and  far  anteccding  the  days  of  Moses.  They 
are  called  the  "Shepherd  Kings". 

Hyle  (Or.).  Primordial  stutT  or  mattci- :  l^soterically  th.-  homo- 
geneous scdimc  nt  of  Chaos  or  the  Great  Deei).  The  first  principle  out  of 
which  the  objective  Universe  was  formed. 

Hypatia  (Gr.).  The  girl-philosopher,  who  lived  at  Ale.xantlria 
during  the  fifth  century,  and  taught  many  a  famous  man— among  others 
Bishop  Synesius.  She  was  the  daughter  of  the  mathematician  Theon, 
and  became  famous  for  lu-r  learning.  Falling  a  martyr  to  the  fiendish 
conspiracy  of  Theophilos,  Bisliop  of  Alexandria,  and  his  nephew  Cyril, 


136  THEOSOPIIICAL 

slie  was  foully  murdered  by  their  order.     With  her  death  fell  tlie  Neo- 
Platonic  School. 

Hyperborean  (Or.).  Tin-  re<?ions  around  the  North  Poh-  in  the 
Ai-ctir    ("irck'. 

Hypnotism  ((jr.).  A  name  given  by  Dr.  Braid  to  various  processes 
by  which  one  person  of  strong  will-power  plunges  anotlu-r  of  weaker 
mind  into  a  kind  of  trance ;  once  in  such  a  state  the  latter  will  do  any- 
thing s^uggcstcd  to  him  by  the  hypnotiser.  Unless  produced  for  beneficial 
purposes,  Occultists  would  call  it  black  magic  or  Sorcery.  It  is  the  most 
dangerous  of  practices,  morally  and  physically,  as  it  interferes  with  the 
nerve  fluid  and  the  nerves  controlling  the  circulation  in  the  capillary 
blood-vessels. 

Hypocephalus  (Gr.).  A  kind  of  a  pillow  for  the  head  of  the 
mummy.  They  are  of  various  kinds,  e.g.,  of  stone,  wood,  etc.,  and  very 
often  of  circular  disks  of  linen  covered  with  cement,  and  inscribed  with 
magic  figures  and  letters.  They  are  called  "rest  for  the  dead"  in  the 
Ritual,  and  every  mummy-coffin  has  one. 


GLOSSARY  137 


I. 


!• — The  ninth  letter  in  the  English,  the  tenth  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet. 
As  a  numeral  it  signifies  in  both  languages  one,  and  also  toi  in  the 
Hebrew  (see  J),  in  which  it  corresponds  to  the  Divine  name  Jah,  the 
male  side,  or  aspect,  of  the  liermaphrodite  being,  or  the  male-f<*male 
Adam,  of  which  hovah  (eJah-hovah)  is  tlie  female  aspect.  It  is  symbolized 
by  a  hand  with  bent  fore-finger,  to  show  its  phallic  signification. 

lacchos  (Gr.).  A  synonym  of  Bacchus.  ^Mythology  mentions  three 
persons  so  named :  the}-  were  Greek  ideals  adopted  later  by  the  Romans. 
The  word  lacchos  is  stated  to  be  of  Phoenician  origin,  and  to  mean  "an 
infant  at  the  breast".  Many  ancient  monuments  represent  Ceres  or 
Demeter  with  Bacchus  in  her  arms.  One  lacchos  was  called  Thebau 
and  Conqueror,  son  of  Jupiter  and  Semele ;  his  mother  died  before  his 
birth  and  he  was  preserved  for  some  time  in  the  thigh  of  his  father ;  he 
was  killed  by  the  Titans.  Another  was  son  of  Jupiter,  as  a  Dragon,  and 
Persephone ;  this  one  was  named  Zagrnsus.  A  third  was  lacchos  of 
Eleusis,  son  of  Ceres:  he  is  of  importance  because  he  appeared  on  the 
sixth  day  of  the  Eleusinian  Mysteries.  Some  see  an  analogy  between 
Bacchus  and  Noah,  both  cultivators  of  the  Vine,  and  patrons  of  alcoholic 
excess,  [w.w.w.] 

lachus  (Gr.).  An  Egyptian  physician  whose  memory,  according 
to  jElian,  was  venerated  for  long  centuries  on  account  of  his  wonderful 
occult  knowledge.  lachus  is  credited  witli  having  stopped  epidemics 
simply  by  certain  fumigations,  and  cured  diseases  hy  making  his  patients 
inhale  herbs. 

laho.  Though  this  name  is  more  fully  treated  under  thf  word 
"Yaho"  and  "lao",  a  few  words  of  explanation  will  not  be  found  amiss. 
Diodorus  mentions  that  the  God  of  ]\Ioses  was  lao ;  but  as  the  latter  name 
denotes  a  "mystery  god",  it  cannot  therefore  be  confused  with  laho  or 
Yaho  (q.v.)  The  Samaritans  pronounced  it  labe,  Yahva,  and  the  Jews 
Yaho,  and  then  Jehovah,  by  change  of  Masoretic  vowels,  an  elastic 
scheme  by  which  any  change  may  be  indulged  in.  But  "Jehovah"  is  a 
later  invention  and  invocation,  as  originally  the  name  was  Jah,  or  lacchos 
(Bacchus).  Aristotle  shows  the  ancient  Arabs  representing  lach  (lac- 
chos) by  a  horse,  i.e.,  the  horse  of  the  Sun  (Dionysus),  whicli  followed 
the  chariot  on  which  Ahura  Mazda,  the  god  of  the  Heavens,  daily  rode. 

lamblichus  (Gr.).  A  great  Theurgist,  mystic,  and  writer  of  the 
third  and  fourth  centuries,  a  Neo-lMatonist  and  philosopher,  born  at 
Chalcis  in  Crele-Syria.     Correct  biographies  of  him  have  never  existed 


138  TJIKOvSOl'JlK  Al. 

beeaust'  of  tli.-  liatred  of  the  Cliristiaiis;  but  tliat  wliich  lias  been  tratli.fi-d 
of  his  life  in  isolated   fragments  from  works  by   inij)artial  pagan   and 
independent  writers  sliows  how  exeellent  and  lioly  was  his  moral  char- 
aeter.  and  liow  great  Ins  learning.     lie  may  be  called  the  founder  of 
theurgie  magie  among  the  Xeo-Platonists  and  the  reviver  of  the  i)raeticai 
mysteries  outside  of  temple  or  fane.       TTis  school  was  at  first  distinct 
from  that  of  Plotinus  and  Porphyry,  wiio  were  .strongly  against  cere- 
nionial  magic  and  practical  theurgy  as  dangerous,  though  later  he  con- 
vinced Porphyry  of  its  advi.sability  on  .some  occa.sions,  and  l)otli  master 
and  i)ui)il   lirmly  believed  in  theurgy  and   magic,  of  which  the  former 
IS   principally   the   highest   and   most   efficient    mode   of   communication 
with   one's   Higher   Ego,   through    the   medium   of   one's   a.stral    body. 
Theurgie  is  benevolent  magic,  and  it  becomes  goetic.  or  dark  and  evil, 
only  when  it  is  used  for  necromancy  or  selfish  j)urposes ;  but  such  dark 
magic  has  never  been  practised  by  any  theurgist  or  philosopher,  whose 
name  has  descended  to  us  unspotted  by  any  evil  deed.     So  much  was 
Porphyry  (who  became  the  teacher  of  larabiichus  in  Neo-Platonic  i)hil- 
osophy)  convinced  of  this,  that  though  he  himself  never  practised  the- 
urgy, yet  he  gave  instructions  for  the  acquirement  of  this  sacred  science. 
Thus  he  .says  in  one  of  liis  writings,  "Whosoever  is  acquainted  with  the 
nature  of  divinely  luminous  appearances  {(paafiara)     knows  also  on 
what  account  it  is  requisite  to  abstain  from  all  birds  (and  animal  food) 
and  especially  for  him  who  hastens  to  be  liberated  from  terrestrial  con- 
cerns and  to  be  established  with  the  celestial  gods".     (See  Select  Works 
by  T.  Taylor,  p.  159.)    Moreover,  the  same  Porphyry  mentions  in  his 
Life  of  Plotinus  a  priest  of  Egypt,  who,  "at  the  request  of  a  certain 
friend  of  Plotinus,  exhibited  to  him,  in  the  temple  of  Isis  at  Rome,  the 
familiar  ehiimon  of  that  philosopher".    In  other  words,  he  produced  the 
theurgie  invocation  (see  "Theurgist")  by  which  Egyptian  Hierophant 
or  Indian  Mahatma,  of  old,  could  clothe  their  own  or  any  other  person's 
astral  douhle  with  the  appearance  of  its  Higher  Ego,  or  what  Bulwer 
Lytton  terms  the  "Luminous  Self",  the  Augoeidcs,  and  confabulate  wuth 
ft.     This  it  is  which   lamblichus  and  many  others,   including  the  me-- 
<lia?val   Rosierucians,   meant   by  nnion   with  Deity.      lamblichus  wrote 
many  books  but  only  a  few  of  his  works  are  extant,  such  as  his  "Egypt- 
ian Mysteries"  and  a  treatise  "On  Daemons",  in  which  he  speaks  very 
.severely  again.st  any  intercourse  with  them.     He  was  a  biographer  of 
Pythagoras  and  deeply  versed  in  the  system  of  the  latter,  and  was  also 
learned  in  the  Chaldean  My.steries.    He  taught  that  the  One,  or  univer- 
sal MoN.\D,  was  the  principle  of  all  unity  as  well  as  diversity,  or  of 
Homogeneity  and  Heterogeneity;  that  the  Uuad,  or  two  ("Principles"), 
was  the  intellect,  or  that  which  we  call  Buddhi-Manas;  three,  was  the 
Soul  (the  lower  Manas),  etc.,  etc.    There  is  much  of  the  theo.sophical  in 
his  teachings,  and  his  works  on  the  various  kinds  of  demons  (Elemen- 
tals)  are  a  well  of  esoteric  knowledge  for  the  student.     His  austerities, 
purity  of  life  and  earnestness  were  great.     lamblichus  is  cndited  with 


GLOSSARY  139 

having  been  once  levitated  ten  cubits  high  from  tht-  grouutl,  as  an-  sonii- 
of  the  modern  Yogis,  and  even  great  mediums. 

lao  (Or.).  See  laho.  The  liighest  god  of  the  PhdMiieians — "th.- 
light  conceivable  only  by  intellect",  the  piiysical  and  spiritual  Princii)le 
of  all  things,  "the  male  Essence  of  Wisdom".  It  is  tlie  idt-al  Sun- 
light. 

lao  Hebdomai  (dr.).  The  collective  "Seven  Heavens'"  (also 
angels)  according  to  Irciueus.  The  mystery-god  of  the  Gnostics.  Tin- 
same  as  the  Seven  Mutuisa-puiras  {q.v.)  of  the  Occultists.  (Ser  also 
"Yah"  and  "Yaho"). 

Ibis  Worship.  The  Ibis,  in  Egyptian  JIah,  was  sacred  to  Thotli  at 
Hermopolis.  It  was  called  the  messenger  of  Osiris,  for  it  is  the  symbol 
of  Wisdom,  Discrimination,  and  Purity,  as  it  loathes  water  if  it  is  tiie 
least  impure.  Its  usefulness  in  devouring  the  eggs  of  the  crocodiles  and 
serpents  was  great,  and  its  credentials  for  divine  lionours  a.s  a  symbol 
were:  (a)  its  black  wings,  which  related  it  to  primeval  darkness — chaos: 
and  (&)  the  triangular  shape  of  them — the  triangle  being  the  fir.st  geo- 
metrical figure  and  a  symbol  of  the  trinitarian  mystery.  To  this  day 
the  Ibis  is  a  sacred  bird  with  some  tribes  of  Kopts  wlio  live  along  the 
Nih'. 

Ibn  Gebirol.  Solomon  Ben  Ychudah:  a  great  pliilosoi)her  and 
scholar,  a  Jew  ))y  birth,  who  lived  in  the  eleventh  century  in  Spain.  Tlie 
same  as  Avicenna  (q.v.). 

Ichchha  (Sk.).     Will,  or  will-power. 

Ichchha  Sakti  (Sk.).  Will-power;  force  of  desire;  one  of  th(- 
occult  Forces  of  nature.  That  power  of  the  will  which,  exercised  in 
occult  practices,  generates  the  nerve-currents  necessary  to  set  certain 
muscles  in  motion  and  to  paralyze  certain  others. 

Ichthus  (Gr.).  A  Fish:  the  symbol  of  the  Fisli  has  been  frequently 
referred  to  Jesus,  the  Christ  of  the  New  Testament,  partly  because  the 
five  letters  forming  the  w^ord  are  the  initials  of  the  Greek  j)hrase,  Irsou.'i 
Christos  Thcou  Uios  Soter,  Jesus  Christ  the  Saviour,  Son  of  God.  Hence 
his  followers  in  tlie  early  Christian  centuries  were  often  called  fisht  s. 
and  drawings  of  fish  are  found  in  the  Catacombs.  Compare  also  the 
narrative  that  some  of  his  early  disciples  were  fishermen,  and  the  as- 
sertion of  Jesus — "I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men".  Note  also  the  Vesica 
Piscis,  a  conventional  shape  for  fish  in  general,  is  frequently  found  en- 
closing a  picture  of  a  Christ,  holy  virgin,  or  saint ;  it  is  a  long  oval  with 
pointed  ends,  the  space  marked  out  by  tiie  intersection  of  two  equal  cir- 
cles, when  less  than  half  the  area  of  one.  Compare  the  Christian  female 
recluse,  a  Nun — this  word  is  the  Chaldee  name  for  fish,  and  fish  is  con- 
nected with  the  worship  of  Venus,  a  goddess,  and  the  Roman  Catholics 
still  eat  fish  on  the  Dies  Veneris  or  Friday,     [w.w.w.] 

Ida  (Scand.).  The  i)lains  of  Ida,  on  which  the  gods  ctssemhle  to  h(»ld 
counsel  in  the  Edda.     The  field  of  peace  and  rest. 


140  THEOSOPHICAI, 

Ideos,  ill  Parac'i'lsiis  tlic  saiiit-  as  Cliaos,  or  M i/sh  niaii  MiKjiiitin  as 
tliat  philosopher  calls  it. 

Idises  (Scon(L).  The  saiiif  as  Disi-s,  ilie  Faij-irs  and  Walkyrit-s. 
the  diviiK,'  women  in  the  Norse  lejrends;  they  were  n-verenced  hy  the 
Teutons  licfort'  tlic  day  of  Taeitns,  as  the  latter  shows. 

Idaeic  Finger.  An  iron  tin«ircr  stronfjly  majriu-ti/cd  and  used  in 
the  t(Mnph'S  for  liealinjr  purposes.  It  produced  wonders  in  that  direction, 
and  therefore  was  said  to  possess  magical  powers. 

Idol,  A  statue  or  a  picture  of  a  heathen  pod;  or  a  statue  or  j)icture 
of  a  Romish  Saint,  or  a  fetish  of  uncivilized  tribes, 

Idospati  fSk.).  The  same  as  Narayana  or  Vishnu;  resemhlinpr 
Poseidon  in  some  respects. 

Idra  Rabba  (Hch.).  "The  Greater  Holy  Assembly",  a  division 
of  the  Zokar. 

Idra  Suta  (lid).).  "The  Lesser  Holy  Assembly",  another  division 
of  the  Zohar. 

Iduna  (Scand.).  The  goddess  of  immortal  youth.  The  daughter  of 
Iwaldi,  the  Dwarf.  She  is  said  in  the  Edda  to  have  hidden  "life"  in  the 
Deep  of  the  Ocean,  and  when  the  right  time  came,  to  have  restored  it  to 
Earth  once  more.  She  was  the  wife  of  Bragi,  the  god  of  poetry ;  a  most 
charming  myth.  Like  Heimdal,  "born  of  nine  mothers",  Bragi  at  his 
birth  rises  upon  the  crest  of  the  wave  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea  (see 
"Bragi").  He  married  Iduna,  the  immortal  goddess,  who  accompanies 
him  to  Asgard  where  every  morning  she  feeds  the  gods  with  the  apples  of 
eternal  youth  and  health.     (See  Asgard  and  the  Gods.) 

Idwatsara  (Sk.).  One  of  the  five  periods  that  form  the  Yuga. 
This  cycle  is  pre-eminently  the  Vedic  cycle,  which  is  taken  as  the  basis 
of  calculation  for  larger  cycles. 

leu.     Tlie  "first  man";  a  Gnostic  term  used  in  Pistis-Sophia. 

lezedians  or  I<zidi  (Pers.).  This  sect  came  to  Syria  from  Basrah. 
They  u.se  baptism,  believe  in  the  archangels,  but  reverence  Satan  at  the 
same  time.  Their  prophet  lezad,  who  preceded  Mahomet  by  long  cen- 
turies, taught  that  a  messenger  from  heaven  would  bring  them  a  book 
written  from  the  eternity. 

Ifing  (Scand.).  The  broad  river  that  divides  Asgard,  the  home  of 
the  gods,  from  that  of  the  Jotuns,  the  great  and  strong  magicians.  Below 
Asgard  was  Midgard,  where  in  the  sunny  aether  was  built  the  home  of 
the  Light  Elves.  In  their  disposition  and  order  of  locality,  all  these 
Homes  answer  to  the  Deva  and  other  Lokas  of  the  Hindus,  inhabited  by 
the  various  classes  of  gods  and  Asuras. 

Igaga  (Chald.).     Celestial  angels,  the  same  as  Archangels. 

I.H.S.  This  triad  of  initials  stands  for  the  in  hoc  signo  of  the  alleged 
vision  of  Constantine,  of  which,  save  Eusebius,  its  author,  no  one  ever 
knew.    I.H.S.  is  interpreted  Jesus  Homimim  Salvator,  and  In  hoc  signo. 


liLOSSARV  141 

It  is,  however,  wAi  knowu  that  the  Greek  J 11^  was  one  of  the  most 
ancient  names  of  Bacchus.  As  Jesus  was  never  identical  with  Jehovah, 
hut  with  his  own  "Father"  (as  all  of  us  are),  and  had  come  rather  to 
destroy  the  worship  of  Jehovah  than  to  enforce  it,  as  the  Rosicrucians 
well  maintained,  the  sclieme  of  Eusebius  is  very  transparent.  In  hoc 
signo  Victorcris,  t  the  Laharum  x  (the  tau  and  the  rcsh)  is  a  very  old 
s'ignum,  placed  ou  the  foreheads  of  those  who  were  just  initiated.  Kenealy 
translates  it  as  meaning  "he  who  is  initiated  into  the  Xaronic  Secret, 
or  the  600,  shall  be  Victor"  ;  but  it  is  simply  "through  tiiis  sign  hast 
thou  conquered";  i.e.,  througli  the  light  of  Initiation — Lux.  (See  Neo- 
phyte" and  "Naros".) 

Ikhir  Bonga.     A  "Spirit  of  tin-  Deep"  of  tiie  Kolarian  tribes. 

Ikshwaku  (SI,-.).  The  ])rogenitor  of  the  Solar  tribe  (the  Surya- 
vansas)  in  India,  and  the  Son  of  Vaivaswata  Manu,  the  progenitor  of 
the  present  human  Race. 

Ila  (Sk.).  Daughter  of  Vaivaswata  ]\lanu:  wife  of  Buddha,  the  .son 
of  Soma ;  one  month  a  woman  and  the  other  a  man  by  the  degree  of 
Saraswati ;  an  illusion  to  the  androgj'nous  second  race.  Tla  is  also  Vaeh 
in  another  aspect. 

Ilavriti  (Sk.).  A  region  in  the  center  of  whieli  is  placed  Blount 
^leru,  tlic  liabitat  of  the  gods. 

.  Idal  Boath.  Lit.,  "the  child  from  the  Kgg".  a  Gnostic  term.  IIi- 
is  the  creator  of  our  physical  globe  (the  earth)  according  to  the  Gnostic 
teaching  in  the  Codex  Nazarans  (the  Evangel  of  the  Nazarenes  and  the 
Ebionites).  The  latter  identifies  him  with  Jehovah  the  God  of  the  Jews. 
Ildaboatli  is  "the  Son  of  Darkness"  in  a  bad  sense  and  the  father  of  the 
six  terrestrial  "Stellar",  dark  si)irits,  the  antithesis  of  the  bright  Stellar 
spirits.  Tiieir  respective  abodes  are  the  seven  splieres,  tlie  ui)per  of 
which  begins  in  the  "middle  space",  the  region  of  their  motlier  Sophia 
Achamotli,  and  the  lower  ending  on  this  earth — the  seventh  region  (see 
his  Unveiled,  Vol.  II.,  183.)  Ilda-Baoth  is  the  genius  of  Saturn,  the 
planet ;  or  rather  the  evil  spirit  of  its  ruler. 

Iliados.  In  Paracelsus  the  same  as  "Ideos"  (q.v.)  I'rimordial 
matter  in  the  subjective  state. 

lUa-ah,  Adam  (Hch.).  Adam  Ilhi-ali  is  the  celestial,  sujierioi- 
Adam,  in  the  Zohar. 

minus.     One  of  the  gods  in   the  Chaldean   Tlieogony   of  Damascius. 

Ilmatar  (Finn.).  The  Virgin  who  falls  from  heaven  into  the  sea 
before  creation.  She  is  the  "daughter  of  the  air"  and  the  mother  of 
seven  .sons  (the  seven  forces  in  natureV  CSee  Kalfvala,  the  epic  poem 
of  Finland. "i 

Illusion.  Ill  Occultism  everytliing  finite  ilike  tlie  universe  and 
all  in  it)  is  called  illusion  or  maya. 

Illuminati  (Lat.).     The  "Enlightened",  the  initiated  adepts. 


142  TIIKOSOPHICAL 

Illus  I  dr.).     I'riiiionlial  iiiikI  or  sliiiif;  called  also  llijh  . 

Image.  Occultism  pcnnits  no  other  iinajrc  than  that  of  the  livinjr 
iiiiajre  of  divine  man  (the  symbol  of  Humanity)  on  earth.  The  Kahhnla 
teaches  that  this  divine  Imajje.  the  ct)py  of  the  suhliiiK  aud  hohj  upp<r 
Iniof/f  (the  Hlohim^  has  now  ehan<red  into  unothi  r  similituih  ,  owinj?  Ut 
the  development  of  men's  sin  fid  nature.  It  is  only  the  upp«r  divinr 
Image  (the  K(fu)  which  is  the  .same;  the  lower  (personality)  has  chanped. 
and  nmn.  now  fearinj;  the  wild  beasts,  has  frrown  to  bear  on  his  face  the 
similitude  of  many  of  them.  {Zohar  I.  fol.  l\(i.)  In  the  early  period  of 
Kfrypt  there  wen-  no  imajjes;  but  later,  as  Lenormand  says.  *'In  the 
sanctuaries  of  Kjrypt  they  divided  the  pro|)erties  of  nature  and  conse- 
(juently  of  Divinity  (the  Klohim,  or  the  Efpis),  into  seven  abstract  cjual- 
ities.  characterized  each  by  an  emblem,  which  are  matter,  cohesion,  flux- 
ion, coagulation,  acc\nnulation,  station  and  division  ".  These  were  all 
attributes  symbolized  in  various  images. 

Imagination.  In  Occultism  this  is  not  to  be  cimfusrd  with  fancy, 
as  it  is  one  of  the  plastic  powers  of  the  higher  Soul,  and  is  the  memory 
of  the  preceiling  incarnations,  which,  however  distigured  by  the  lower 
Manas,  yet  rests  always  on  a  ground  of  truth. 

Imhot-pou  or  Imhoftp  (K;/.).  Tin-  god  of  learning  (the  Greek 
Imouthes).  He  was  the  son  of  Ptah.  and  in  one  asjject  Hermes,  as  he 
is  represented  as  imparting  wisdom  with  a  book  before  him.  He  is  a 
solar  god;  lit.,  "the  god  of  the  haiulsome  face". 

Immah  illih.).     .Mother,  in  contradi.stinction  to  Ahha,  father. 

Immah  Illa-ah  i!l<l).).  The  uppei*  mother;  a  name  given  to 
Shekinali. 

In  (Chin.).     The  female  principle  of  matter,  impregnated  by  Yo,  the 
male  ethereal  i»rinci[)le.  and  precijutated  thereafter  down  into  the  uni 
verse.  ' 

Incarnations  ( Divim  )  or  Avatars.  The  Immaeidate  ('onception 
is  as  itre-eminently  Egyi)tian  as  it  is  Indian.  As  the  author  of  Egi/ptian 
B<lirf  has  it:  "It  is  not  the  vulgar,  coar.se  and  sensual  story  as  in  Greek 
mythology,  but  refined,  moral  atid  spiritual";  and  again  the  incarna- 
tion idea  was  found  revealed  on  the  wall  of  a  Theban  temj>le  by  Samuel 
Sharpe,  who  thus  analyzes  it:  "First  the  god  Thoth  ...  as  the 
messenger  of  the  gods,  like  the  Mercury  of  the  Greeks  (or  the  Gabriel  of 
the  first  Gospel),  tells  the  mai(h  n  (pieen  Mautmes,  that  she  is  to  givi' 
birth  to  a  son,  who  is  to  be  king  Amunotaph  III.  Secondly,  the  god 
Kneph,  the  Spirit  .  .  .  and  the  goddess  Hathor  (Nature)  .  .  . 
both  take  hold  of  the  queen  by  the  hands  and  put  into  her  mouth  the 
character  for  life,  «  cross,  which  is  to  be  the  life  of  the  coming  child  ". 
etc.,  etc.  Truly  divine  incarnation,  or  the  avatar  doctrine,  constituted 
the  grandest  mystery  of  every  old  religious  system! 

Incas  (Pfruviaii).  The  name  given  to  the  creative  gods  in  the  Peru- 
vian  theology,   and   later   to   the   rulers  of  the   country.      "The    Incas, 


OLOSSAKV  143 

seven  in  number  have  repeoplcd  the  earth  after  the  Deluge",  Coste 
makes  them  say  (I.  iv.,  p.  19).  They  belonged  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  Root-race  to  a  dynasty  of  divine  kings,  siieh  as  thos*-  of  Egypt. 
India  and  Chaldea. 

Incubus  (LdtJ.  Something  nioi-i-  i-t-al  and  dangirous  tlian  tli<- 
ordinary  meaning  given  to  the  word,  viz.,  that  of  "nightmare".  An 
f)tcuhus  is  the  male  Elemental,  and  Surcuha  the  female,  and  these  are 
undeniably  the  spooks  of  media'val  demonology,  called  forth  from  the 
invisible  regions  by  human  passion  and  lust.  They  are  now  called 
■'Spirit  brides"  and  "Spirit  husbands"  among  some  benighted  Si)iritists 
and  spiritual  mediums.  But  these  poetical  names  do  not  jirevent  them 
in  the  least  being  that  which  they  are — Ghools,  Vampires  and  soulless 
Eleraentals;  formless  centers  of  Life,  devoid  of  sense ;  in  sliort.  subjective 
protoplasms  when  left  alone,  but  called  into  a  definite  beijig  and  form  by 
the  creative  and  diseased  imagination  of  certain  mortals.  They  were 
known  under  every  clime  as  in  every  age.  and  tlie  Hindus  can  tell  more 
than  one  teri-ible  tab'  of  tiie  dramas  enacted  in  the  life  of  }  oung  students 
and  mystics  by  the  Pisachas,  tiieir  name  in  India. 

Individuality.  One  of  the  names  given  in  Thtus()|»hy  and  i)r- 
lultisni  to  the  Human  Higher  Ego.  We  make  a  distinction  between  the 
immortal  and  divine  P^go,  and  the  mortal  human  Ego  which  perishes. 
The  latter,  or  "|)ersonality "  (i)ersoiuil  Ego)  survives  the  dead  body  only 
for  a  time  in  the  Kama  Loka ;  the  Individuality  prevails  for  ever. 

Indra  fN/,-.y.  The  god  of  tile  FinnaiMi-nt.  tlif  King  of  the  sidereal 
gods.     A  Vedic  Deity. 

Indrani  (SLj.  The  female  aspect  of  Indra. 
.  Indriya  or  I)(lni  Sanifanui  (SkJ.  The  control  of  the  senses  m 
Yoga  practice.  These  are  the  ten  external  agents;  the  five  senses  which 
are  used  for  pci'ception  are  called  J iKind-indrij/ii,  and  the  five  used  for 
action — Karma-iiiflriija.  Pancha-indriiia,  means  literally  and  in  its  oc- 
cult sense  "the  five  roots  producing  life"  (eternal).  With  the  Buddhists, 
it  is  the  five  positive  agents  producing  five  supernal  qualities. 

Induvansa  (Sk.).  Also  SonHiva)isa  or  the  lunar  race  (dyrnistyt. 
from  I  ml  11,  the  Moon.     (See  "Suryavansa"). 

Indwellers.  A  name  or  the  substitute  for  the  right  Sanskrit 
•'soteric  name,  given  to  our  "inner  enemies",  which  are  seven  in  the 
esoteric  philosophy.  The  early  Christian  Chui-i'h  called  them  the  "Seven 
<-aj)ital  Sins":  the  Xazarene  Gnostics  named  them,  the  "seven  badly 
di.spo.sed  Stellars".  and  so  on.  Hindu  exoteric  teachings  speak  only  of 
the  ''sir  enemies"  and  under  the  term  Arish(iihnir<j(i  enumerate  tlu-m  as 
follows:  (1)  Personal  desire,  lust  or  any  pa.ssion  {Katna)  ;  (2)  Hatred  or 
malice  {Krodha)  ;  (3)  Avarice  or  cupidity  {Lobha)  ;  (4)  Ignorance 
(Moha)  ;  (5)  Pride  or  arrogance  (Mada)  ;  (6)  Jealousy,  envy  (Maf- 
iharya)  ;  forgetting  the  seventh,  which  is  the  "unpardonable  sin",  and 
the  worst  of  all  in  Occultism.     (See  Tin  osophist.  May,  ISDO,  p.  431.) 


144  TnE(.>fciui'Jiic.VL 

Ineffable  Name.  With  tlio  Jews,  tlie  substitute  for  the  ">7i.!/.v- 
t(  rji  nanir"  of  their  tribal  deity  Eh-i/ch,  "I  am",  or  Jehovah.  The  third 
eoMunaudnuut  prohibiting  the  ii.sinji:  of  the  latter  name  "in  vain",  the 
Hebrews  substituted  for  it  that  of  Adundi  or  "tiie  Lord".  But  the 
Protestant  Christians  who,  translating  indifft-rently  Jehovah  and  Elohim 
— which  is  also  a  substitute  per  so,  besides  being  an  inft  riar  deity  name 
— by  the  words  "Lord"  and  "God",  have  become  in  this  instance  more 
Catholic  than  the  Pope,  and  include  in  tlie  prohil)ition  l)oth  the  names. 
At  the  present  moment,  however,  neither  Jews  nor  Christians  seem  to 
remember,  or  so  much  as  suspect,  the  occult  reason  why  the  qualifica- 
tion of  Jehovah  or  YHVH  had  become  reprehensible ;  most  of  the  Wefrt- 
ern  Kabbalists  also  seem  to  be  unaware  of  the  fact.  The  truth  is,  that 
the  name  they  bring  forward  as  "ineffable",  is  not  in  the  least  so.  It  is 
the  "unpronounceable",  or  rather  tlie  name  not  to  be  pronounced,  if  any 
thing;  and  this  for  symbolical  reasons.  To  begin  with,  the  "Ineffable 
Name"  of  the  true  Occultist,  is  no  name  at  all,  least  of  all  is  it  that  of 
Jehovah.  The  latter  implies,  even  in  its  Kabbalistical,  esoteric  meaning, 
an  androgynous  nature,  YIIVH,  or  one  of  a  male  and  female  nature. 
It  is  simply  Adam  and  Eve,  or  man  and  woman  blended  in  one,  and  as 
now  written  and  prounced,  is  itself  a  substitute.  But  the  Rabbins  do 
not  care  to  remember  the  Zoharic  admission  that  YHVII  means  "not 
as  I  Am  written,  Am  I  read"  {Zohar,  fol.  HI.,  230a).  One  has  to  know 
how  to  divide  the  Tetragrammaton  ad  infinit^im  before  one  arrives  at  the 
sound  of  the  trulj^  unprounceable  name  of  the  Jewish  mystery-god. 
That  the  Oriental  Occultists  have  their  own  "Ineffable  name"  it  is. 
hardly  necessary  to  repeat. 

Initiate.  From  the  Latin  Initiatus.  The  designation  of  anyone 
who  was  received  into  and  had  revealed  to  him  the  mysteries  and  secrets 
of  either  Masonry  or  Occultism.  In  times  of  antiquity,  those  who  had 
been  initiated  into  the  arcane  knowledge  taught  by  the  Hierophants  of 
the  Mysteries ;  and  in  our  modern  days  those  who  have  been  initiated  by 
the  adepts  of  mj-stic  lore  into  the  mysterious  knowledge,  which,  not- 
withstanding the  lapse  of  ages,  has  yet  a  few  real  votaries  on  earth. 

Initiation.  P'rom  the  same  root  as  the  Latin  initia,  which  means, 
the  basic  or  first  principles  of  any  Science.  The  practice  of  initiation  or 
admission  into  the  sacred  IMysteries,  taught  by  the  Hierophants  and 
learned  priests  of  the  Temples,  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  customs.  This 
was  practised  in  every  old  national  religion.  In  Europe  it  was  abolished 
with  the  fall  of  the  last  pagan  temple.  There  exists  at  present  but  one 
kind  of  initiation  known  to  the  public,  namely  that  into  the  Masonic  rites. 
Masonry,  however,  has  no  more  secrets  to  give  out  or  conceal.  In  the 
palmy  days  of  old,  the  I\Iysteries,  according  to  the  greatest  Greek  and 
Roman  philosophers,  were  the  most  sacred  of  all  solemnities  as  well  as 
the  most  beneficent,  and  greatly  promoted  virtue.  The  Mysteries  rep- 
resented the  passage  from  mortal  life  into  finite  death,  and  the  ex- 
periences of  the  disembodied  Spirit  and  Soul  in  the  world  of  subjec- 


GLOSSARY  145 

tivity.  In  our  own  day,  as  tlie  secret  is  lost,  the  candidate  passes  thronprh 
sundry  meaningless  ceremonies  and  is  initiated  into  the  solar  allegory 
of  Hiram  Abiff,  the  ' '  Widow 's  Son ' '. 

Inner  Man.  An  occult  term,  used  to  designate  the  true  and  im- 
mortal Entity  in  us,  not  the  outward  and  mortal  form  of  clay  that  wx' 
call  our  body.  The  term  applies,  strictly  speaking,  only  to  the  Higher 
Ego,  the  "astral  man"  being  the  appellation  of  the  Double  and  Kama 
Rupa  iq.v.)  or  the  surviving  eidolon. 

Innocents.  A  nick-name  given  to  the  Initiates  and  Kabbalists  be- 
fore the  Christian  era.  The  "Innocents"  of  Bethlehem  and  of  Lud  (or 
Lydda)  who  were  put  to  death  by  Alexander  Janneus,  to  the  number  of 
several  thousands  (b.c.  100,  or  so),  gave  rise  to  the  legend  of  the  40,000 
innocent  babes  murdered  by  Herod  while  searching  for  the  infant  Jesus. 
The  first  is  a  little  known  historical  fact,  the  second  a  fable,  as  suffieienth 
shown  by  Re  nan  in  his  Vie  de  Jesus. 

Intercosmic  gods.  The  Planetary  Spirits,  Dyhan-Chohans,  Devas 
of  various  degrees  of  spirituality,  and  "Archangels"  in  general. 

Iranian  Morals.  The  little  work  called  Ancient  Iranian  and 
Zoroastrian  Morals,  compiled  by  Mr.  Dliunjibhoy  Jamsetjee  Medhora,  a 
Parsi  Theosophist  of  Bombay,  is  an  excellent  treatise  replete  with  the 
highest  moral  teachings,  in  English  and  Gujerati,  and  will  acquaint  the 
student  better  than  many  volumes  with  the  ethics  of  the  ancient  Iranians. 

Irdhi  (Sk.).  The  synthesis  of  the  ten  "supernatural"  occult  powers 
in  Buddhism  and  Brahmanism. 

Irkalla  (Chald.).  The  god  of  Hades,  called  by  the  Babylonians 
"the  country  unseen". 

Isarim  (Heb.).    The  Essenian  Initiates. 

Ishim  (Chald.).  The  B'ne-Alcim,  the  "beautiful  sons  of  god"",  the 
originals  and  prototypes  of  the  later  "Fallen  Angels". 

Ishmonia  (Arab.).  The  city  near  which  is  buried  the  so-called 
"petrified  city"  in  the  Desert.  Legend  speaks  of  immense  subter- 
ranean halls  and  chambers,  passages,  and  libraries  secreted  in  them. 
Arabs  dread  its  neighbourhood  after  sunset. 

Ishtar  (Chald.).  The  Babylonian  Venus.  Ccdled  "the  eldest  of 
heaven  and  earth",  and  daughter  of  Anu,  the  god  of  heaven.  She  is  the 
goddess  of  love  and  beauty.  The  planet  Venus,  as  the  evening  star,  is 
identified  with  Ishtar,  and  as  the  morning  star  with  Anunit,  the  goddess 
of  the  Akkads.  There  exists  a  most  remarkable  story  of  her  descent  into 
Hades,  on  the  sixth  and  seventh  Assyrian  tiles  or  tablets  deciphered  by 
the  late  G.  Smith.  Any  Occultist  who  reads  of  her  love  for  Tamrauz, 
his  assassination  by  Izdubar,  the  despair  of  the  goddess  and  her  descent 
in  search  of  her  beloved  through  the  seven  gates  of  Hades,  and  finally 
her  liberation  from  the  dark  realm,  will  recognize  the  beautiful  allegory 
of  the  soul  in  search  of  the  Spirit. 


146  TirKasoi'iiicAi. 

Isiac  table.  A  true  inominifiit  of  Kj^yptian  art.  It  ivprcscnts 
tile  ^oildt'ss  Isi.s  iiiuliT  many  of  luT  a.spects.  Tiie  Josuit  Kireher  describes 
it  as  a  table  of  copper  overlaid  with  black  enamel  and  silver  incrustations. 
It  was  in  the  pos.ses.sion  of  Cardinal  Heinbo,  and  therefore  called  "Tabula 
Bembina  sive  Mensa  Isiaea".  Under  this  title  it  is  described  by  W. 
Wynn  Wescott.  M.li.,  who  jrives  its  "History  and  Occult  Si^rnificance" 
in  an  t-xtreniely  interesting'  and  learned  volume  (with  photoj^raphs  and 
illustrations).  The  tablet  was  believed  to  have  been  a  votive  oflFering 
to  Isis  in  one  of  her  numerous  temples.  At  the  sack  of  Rome  in  1525, 
it  came  into  the  possession  of  a  soldier  who  sold  it  to  Cardinal  Bembo. 
Then  it  pa.ssed  to  the  Duke  of  Mantiia  in  IHIW.  when  it  was  lo.st. 

Isis.  In  E<]ryptian  Issd,  the  {goddess  Vii-j^in-Mother ;  pi'rsonified  na- 
ture. In  E};yptian  or  Koptic  Uasi,  the  female  reflection  of  Uasnr  or 
Osiris.  She  is  the  "woman  clothed  with  the  sun"  of  the  land  of  Chemi. 
Isis-Latona  is  the  Roman  Isis. 

Isitwa  fSk.).     The  divine  Power. 

Israel  (Ilih.).  The  Eastern  Kabbalists  derive  tne  name  from 
Isaral  or  Asar,  the  Sun-God.  "Isra-el"  sitrnifies  "striving  with  god": 
the  "sun  rising'  upon  Jacob-Israel"  means  the  Sun-god  Israel  (or  Isar- 
el)  striving  with,  and  to  fecundate  matter,  which  has  power  with  "God 
and  with  man"  and  often  prevails  over  both.  Esau,  ^saou,  Asu,  is 
also  the  Sun.  Esau  and  Jacob,  the  allegorical  twins,  are  the  emblems 
of  the  ever  struggling  dual  principle  in  nature — good  and  evil,  darkness 
and  sunlight,  and  the  "Lord"  (Jehovah)  is  their  antetype.  Jacob- 
Israel  is  the  feminine  principle  of  Esau,  as  Abel  is  that  of  Cain,  both 
Cain  and  Esau  being  the  male  principle.  Hence,  like  Malach-Iho,  the 
"Lord"  Esau  fights  with  Jacob  and  prevails  not.  In  Genesis  xxxii.  the 
God-Sun  first  strives  with  Jacob,  breaks  his  thigh  (a  phallic  symbol) 
and  yet  is  defeated  by  his  terrestrial  type — matter;  and  the  Sun-God 
rises  on  Jacob  and  his  thicjh  in  covenant.  All  these  biblical  personages, 
their  "Lord  God"  included,  are  types  represented  in  an. allegorical  se- 
quence. They  are  types  of  Life  and  Death,  Good  and  Evil,  Light  and 
Darkness,  of  Matter  and  Spirit  in  their  synthesis,  all  these  being  under 
their  contrasted  aspects. 

Iswara  (Sk.).  The  "Lord  "  oi-  the  personal  god — diviin  Spirit  in 
man.  Lit.,  sovereign  (independent)  existence.  A  title  given  to  Siva  and 
other  gods  in   India.     Siva  is  also  called   Iswaradeva,  or  soverign  deva. 

Ithyphallic  (dr.).  Qualifications  of  the  gods  as  males  and  her- 
maphrodites, such  as  the  bearded  Veiuis,  Apollo  in  woman's  clothes, 
Ammon  the  generator,  the  embryonic  Ptah,  and  so  on.  Yet  the  phallus, 
.so  conspicuous  and,  according  to  our  prim  notions,  so  indecent,  in  the 
Indian  and  Egyptian  religions,  was  associated  in  the  earliest  symbology 
far  more  with  another  and  much  purer  idea  than  that  of  sexual  creation. 
As  shown  by  many  an  Orientalist,  it  expressed  rcsurnction,  the  rising 
in  tiff  from  (hath.    Even  the  other  meaning  had  nought  indecent  in  it: 


CLOSSARY  147 

"These  images  only  symbolize  in  a  very  expressive  manner  the  ereativi- 
force  of  nature,  without  obscene  intention,"  writes  Mariette  Bey,  anil 
adds,  "It  is  but  another  way  to  express  cthstial  ff(  lu  ration,  wliieli  should 
cause  the  deceased  to  enter  into  a  new  life".  Christians  and  Europeans 
are  very  hard  on  the  phallic  symbols  of  the  ancients.  The  nude  gods 
and  goddesses  and  their  generative  eml)lems  and  statuary  havt*  .srcn  / 
departments  assigned  to  them  in  our  nniseums;  why  then  adopt  and 
preserve  the  same  symbols  for  Clergy  and  Laity?  The  loru-frasis  in  the 
early  Church — its  agapa — were  as  pure  (or  as  impure)  as  the  Phallic 
festivals  of  the  Pagans;  the  long  priestly  robes  of  the  Roman  and  Greek 
Churches,  and  the  long  liair  of  the  latter,  the  holy  water  sprinklers  and 
the  rest,  are  there  to  show  that  Christian  ritualism  has  preserved  in  more 
or  less  modified  forms  all  the  symbolism  of  old  Egypt.  As  to  tlie  sym- 
bolism of  a  i)urely  feminine  nature,  we  are  bound  to  confess  that  in  the 
sight  of  every  impartial  archfeologist  the  half  nude  toilets  of  our  cultured 
ladies  of  Society  are  far  more  suggestive  of  female-sex  worship  than  are 
the  rows  of  yoni-shai)ed  lamps,  lit  along  the  highways  to  temples  in 
India. 

lurbo  Adunai.  A  Gnostic  term,  or  the  compound  name  for  lao- 
Jeliovah,  whom  the  Ophites  regarded  as  an  emanation  of  their  llda- 
Baoth,  the  Son  of  Sophia  Aciiamoth — the  proud,  ambitious  and  jealous 
god,  and  impure  Spirit,  whom  many  of  the  Gnostic  sects  regarded  as  the 
god  of  Moses.  "lurbo  is  called  by  the  Abortions  (the  Jews)  Adunai" 
says  the  Codex  NazarcEus  (vol.  iii.,  p.  13).  The  "Abortions"  and  Ahor- 
tives  was  the  nickname  givt-n  to  the  Jews  hy  their  opponents  the 
Gnostics. 

lu-Kabar  Zivo  ((hi.).  Known  also  as  Nebat-Iavar-bar-Iulin-lfafin. 
"Lord  of  tlie  ^Eons"  in  tiie  Nazarene  System.  He  is  the  procreator 
(Emauator)  of  the  seven  holy  lives  (the  seven  primal  Dhyan  Chohans, 
or  Archangels,  each  representing  one  of  the  cardinal  Virtues),  and  is 
himself  called  the  third  life  (tiiird  Logos).  In  the  Codex  he  is  addressed 
as  "the  Helm  and  Vine  of  the  food  of  life".  Tlius,  he  is  identical  with 
Christ  (Christos)  who  says  "1  am  tlie  true  Vine  and  my  Father  is  the 
Husbandman"  (John  xv.  1).  It  is  well  known  that  Christ  is  regarded 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  as  the  "chief  of  the  ^ons",  and  also  as 
Michael  "who  is  like  god".    Such  was  also  the  belief  of  the  Gnostics. 

Iwaldi  (Scand.).  The  dwarf  whose  sons  fabrieated  for  (^din  the 
magic  spear.  One  of  the  subterranean  master-smiths  who,  together  with 
other  gnomes,  contrived  to  make  an  enchanted  sword  for  the  great  war- 
god  Cheru.  This  two-edged-sword  figures  in  the  legend  of  the  Emperor- 
Vitellius,  who  got  it  from  the  god,  "to  his  own  hurt",  according  to  the 
oracle  of  a  "wise  woman",  neglected  it  and  was  finally  killed  with  it  at 
the  foot  of  the  capitol,  by  a  German  soldier  who  had  purloined  the 
weapon.  The  "sword  of  the  war-god"  has  a  long  biography,  since  it 
also  re-appears  in  the  half-legendary  biography  of  Attila.  Having 
married  against  her  will  Ildikd,  the  beautiful  daughter  of  the  King  of 


148  THEOSUI'JIICAI, 

Burgundy  whom  he  had  shiiu,  liis  bride  gets  tlie  magic  sword  from  a 
mysterious  old  woman,  and  with  it  kills  the  King  of  the  Huns. 

Izdubar.  A  name  of  a  hero  in  the  fragments  of  Chaldean  History 
and  TheogoMv  on  the  so-called  Ass.n'ian  tiles,  as  read  by  the  late  George 
Smitii  and  others.  Smith  seeks  to  identify  Izudubar  with  Nimrod. 
Such  may  or  may  not  be  the  case;  but  as  the  name  of  tiiat  Babylonian 
King  itself  only  "appears"  as  Izdubar,  his  identification  with  the  son 
of  Cush  may  also  turn  out  more  apparent  than  real.  Scholars  are  but 
too  apt  to  check  their  archaeological  discoveries  by  the  far  later  state- 
ments found  in  the  Mosaic  books,  instead  of  acting  vice  versa.  The 
"chosen  people"  have  been  fond  at  all  periods  of  history  of  helping 
themselves  to  other  i)eople's  property-.  From  tlie  appropriation  of  the 
early  history  of  Sargon,  King  of  Akkad,  and  its  wholesale  application  to 
Moses  born  (if  at  all)  some  thousands  of  years  later,  down  to  their 
"spoiling"  the  Egyptians  under  the  direction  and  divine  advice  of  their 
Lord  God,  the  whole  Pentateuch  seems  to  be  made  up  of  unacknowledged 
mosaical  fragments  from  other  people's  Scriptures.  This  ought  to  have 
made  Assyriologists  more  cautious ;  but  as  many  of  these  belong  to  the 
clerical  caste,  such  coincidences  as  that  of  Sargon  aflfect  them  very  little. 
One  thing  is  certain :  Izdubar,  or  whatever  may  be  his  name,  is  shown 
in  all  the  tablets  as  a  mighty  giant  who  towered  in  size  above  all  other 
men  as  a  cedar  towers  over  brushwood — a  hunter,  according  to  cuneiform 
legends,  who  contended  with,  and  destroyed  the  lion,  tiger,  wild  bull,  and 
buffalo,  the  most  formidable  animals. 


cr.OSSARV  149 


J. 


J» — The  tenth  letter  in  the  English  and  IL-brt-w  alpliuWt,  in  the 
latter  of  wliich  it  is  equivalent  to  y,  and  i,  and  is  numerically  number 
10,  the  perfect  number  (See  Jodh  and  Yodh),  or  one.     (See  also  I.) 

Jabalas  (Sk.).  Students  of  tlie  mvstical  portion  of  the  White  Yajur 
Veda. 

Jachin  (Ilcb.).  '"In  Hebrew  h-tters  IKIX,  from  the  root  KUN 
"to  establish",  and  the  symbolical  name  of  one  of  the  Pilhirs  at  the 
porch  of  King  Solomon's  Temple."  [w.w.w.] 

The  other  pillar  was  called  Boaz,  and  the  two  were  respectively  white 
and  black.  They  correspond  to  several  mystic  ideas,  one  of  which  is  that 
they  represent  the  dual  Manas  or  the  higher  and  the  lower  Ego ;  another 
connected  these  two  pillars  in  Slavonian  mysticism  with  God  and  the 
Devil,  to  the  "White"  and  the  Black  God"  or  Bijdon  Bog  and  Tcher- 
noy  Bog.     (See  "Yakin  and  Boaz"  infra). 

Jacobites.  A  Christian  sect  in  Syria  of  the  Vlth  century  (550 j. 
which  held  that  Christ  had  only  one  nature  and  tliat  confession  was  not 
of  divine  origin.  They  had  secret  signs,  passwords  and  a  solemn  initia- 
tion with  mysteries. 

Jadoo  (Hind.).     Sorcery,  black  magic,  enchantment. 

Jadoogar  (Hind.).    A  Sorcerer,  oi-  Wizard. 

Jagaddhatri  (Sk.).  Substance;  the  name  of  "thf  nurst^  of  the 
world",  the  designation  of  the  power  which  carried  Krishna  and  his 
brother  Balarama  into  Devaki,  tlieir  mother's  bosom.  A  title  of  Saras- 
vati  and  Durga. 

Jagad-Yoni  (Sk.).     The  womb  of  the  world;  space. 

Jagat   ^S'A-.;.     The  Universe. 

Jagan-Natha  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "Lord  of  the  World",  a  title  of  Vishnu. 
The  great  image  of  Jagan-natha  on  its  car,  commonly  pronounced  and 
spelt  Jagernath.  The  idol  is  that  of  Vishnu  Khrishna.  Puri,  near  the 
town  of  Cuttack  in  Orissa,  is  the  great  seat  of  its  worsliip ;  and  twice  a 
year  an  immense  number  of  pilgrims  attend  the  festivals  of  the  Snana- 
yatra  and  Ratha-yatra.  During  the  first,  the  image  is  bathed,  and  dur- 
ing the  second  it  is  placed  on  a  car,  between  the  images  of  Balarama  the 
brother,  and  Suhhadrd  the  sister  of  Krishna  and  the  huge  vehicle  is 
drawn  by  the  devotin^s,  who  deem  it  felicity  to  be  crushed  to  death 
under  it. 

Jagrata    tSk.).      'IMie    waking   state    of    consciousness.      When    men- 


150  TIIKOSol'JlKAL 

tioncd  in  Yof?a  philosophy,  Jaf/ratn-avastha  is  the  wakinj;  condition,  one 
of  the  four  states  of  I'raiiava  in  asct'tic  practices,  as  Used  by  tiie  Yogis. 

Jahnavi  (SI,-.).     A  name  of  Iranfja,  or  tlie  i-ivcr  (Janjjes. 

Jahva  Alhim  (IlthJ.  The  name  that  in  (!(insus  replaces 
■Alhim  ".  oi-  I'^Iohiin.  the  gods.  It  is  used  in  chapter  1..  whiU'  in  chapter 
II.  till!  "Lord  God"  or  Jehovah  steps  in.  In  Esoteric  i)hilosophy  and 
exoteric  tradition.  Jahva  Alhim  (Jaiui  Ah  ini)  was  the  title  of  the  chief 
of  the  Ilierophants,  who  initiated  into  the  <;ood  and  the  evil  of  this  world 
in  the  eoUefre  of  priests  known  as  the  Aleim  College  in  the  land  of  Gan- 
(lunya  or  Babylonia.  Tradition  and  rumor  assert,  that  the  chief  of 
the  temple  Fo-mai\iu,  called  Foh-tchou  (teacher  of  Buddhist  law),  a 
temple  situated  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  great  mount  of  Kouenlong-sang 
(between  China  and  Tibet),  teaches  once  every  three  yeai-s  under  a  tree 
called  Sung-Mhi-Shu,  or  the  "Tree  of  Knowledge  and  (the  tree)  of 
life",  which  is  the  Bo  (Bodhi)  tree  of  Wisdom. 

Jaimini  (Sk.).  A  great  sage,  a  disciple  of  Vyasa,  the  transmitter 
and  teacher  of  the  Sama  Veda  which  as  claimed  he  received  from  his 
Guru.  He  is  also  the  famous  foundci-  and  writer  of  the  Purva  Mimansa 
philosophy. 

Jaina  Cross.  Tiir  same  as  the  '"Swastika"  (q.v.)  "Thor's  hammer" 
al.so,  01"  the  Hermetic  cross. 

Jainas  (Sh-.).  A  large  religious  body  in  India  closely  resembling 
Buddhism,  but  who  preceded  it  by  long  centuries.  They  claim  that 
Gautama,  the  Buddha,  was  a  disciple  of  one  of  their  Tirtankaras,  or 
Saints.  They  deny  the  authority  of  the  Vedas  and  the  existence  of  any 
personal  supreme  god,  but  believe  in  the  eternity  of  matter,  the  periodic- 
ity of  the  universe  and  the  immortality  of  men's  minds  {Manas)  as  also 
of  that  of  the  animals.    An  extremely  mystic  sect. 

Jalarupa  (Hk.).  Lit.,  "water-body,  or  form".  One  of  the  names 
of  Makaia  (the  sign  capricornus).  It  is  one  of  the  most  occult  and 
mysterious  of  the  Zodiacal  signs;  it  figures  on  the  banner  of  Kama,  god 
of  love,  and  is  connected  with  our  immortal  Egos,    (See  Secret  Doctrine). 

Jambu-dwipa  (Sk.).  One  of  the  main  division  of  the  globe,  in  the' 
Puranic  system.  It  includes  India.  Some  say  that  it  was  a  continent, 
—others  an  island — or  one  of  the  seven  islands  (Sapta  dwipa).  It  is 
"the  dominion  of  Vishnu".  In  its  astronomical  and  mystic  sense  it  is  the 
name  of  our  globe,  .separated  by  the  plane  of  objectivity  from  the  six 
other  globes  of  our  planetary  chain. 

Jamin  (Ilth.).  The  right  side  of  a  man  esteemed  the  most  worthy. 
Benjamin  means  "son  of  the  right  side",  i.e.,  testis,   [w.w.w.] 

Janaka  (Sk.).  One  of  the  Kings  of  ^lithila  of  the  Solar  race.  He 
was  a  great  royal  sage,  and  lived  twenty  generations  before  Janaka  the 
father  of  Sita  who  was  King  of  Videha. 

Jana-loka    (Sk.).     The    woi-ld    wherein    the   ]\Iunis    (the   Saints")    are 


r.LOSSARY  151 

supposed  to  (Iwi'll  aftt-r  tlicir  corporeal  deatli  (See  PurniKisj.  Also  a 
terrestrial  locality. 

Janarddana  (Sh-J.    Lit.,  "tlie  adored  of  uiankind".  a  title  of  Krishna. 

Japa  (Sk.).  A  mystical  practice  of  certain  Yogis,  it  consists  in  the 
repetition  of  various  maj^ical  formula;  and  mantras. 

Jaras  (SkJ.  "Old  Afrc".  The  allejrorical  name  of  the  hunter  wlio 
killed  Krishna  by  mistake,  a  name  showing:  the  prreat  iupMUiity  of  the 
Brahmans  and  the  symbolical  character  of  the  World-8cri{)tures  in 
general.  As  Dr.  Crucefix,  a  high  mason  well  says,  "to  preserve  the 
occult  mysticism  of  their  order  from  all  except  their  own  class,  the  priests 
invented  symbols  and  hieroglyphics  to  embody  sublime  truths". 

Jatayu  (Sk.).  The  Son  of  Garuda.  The  latter  is  the  great  cycle, 
or  Mahakalpa  symbolized  by  the  giant  bird  which  served  as  a  steed  for 
Vishnu,  and  other  gods,  when  related  to  space  and  time.  Jatayu  is 
called  in  the  Ramajjana  "the  King  of  the  feathered  tribe".  For  defend- 
ing Sita  carried  away  by  Ravana,  the  giant  king  of  Lanka,  he  was  killed 
Dy  him.    Jatayu  is  also  called  "the  king  of  the  vultures". 

Javidan  Khirad  (Prrs.).     A  work  on  moral  precepts. 

Jayas  (Sk.).  The  twelve  great  gods  in  the  Puranas  who  neglect  to 
create  men,  and  are  therefore,  cursed  by  Brahma  to  be  reborn  "in  every 
(racial)  Manvantara  till  the  seventh".  Another  form  or  aspect  of  the 
reincarnating  Egofi. 

Jebel  Djudi  (Arah.).  The  "Deluge  ^Mountain"  of  the  Arabic 
legends.  The  same  as  Ararat,  and  the  Babylonian  IMount  of  Nizar  where 
Xisuthrus  landed  with  his  ark. 

Jehovah  (Hrb.).  The  Jewish  "Deity  namt-  J'hovah,  is  a  compound 
of  the  two  words,  viz  of  Jah  (y,  i,  or  j,  Yodh,  the  tenth  letter  of  th" 
alphabet)  and  hovah  (Havah,  or  Eve),"  says  a  Kabbalistic  authority. 
Mr.  J.  Ralston  Skinner  of  Cincinnati,  U.S.A.  And  again.  "The  word 
Jehovah,  or  Jah -Eve,  has  the  primary  meaning  of  existence  or  being  as 
male  female".  It  means  Kabbalistieally  the  latter,  indeed,  and  nothing 
more  ;  and  as  repeatedly  shown  is  entirely  phallic.  Thus,  verse  26  in 
the  IVth  chapter  of  Genesis,  reads  in  its  disfigured  translation  .  .  . 
"then  began  men  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord",  whereas  it  ought 
to  read  correctly  .  .  .  "then  began  men  to  call  themselves  by  the 
name  Jah-hoveih"  or  males  and  females,  which  they  had  become  after  the 
separation  of  sexes.  In  fact  the  latter  is  described  in  the  same  chapter, 
when  Cain  (the  male  or  Joh)  "rose  up  against  Abel,  his  (sister,  not) 
brother  who  slew  him"  (spilt  his  blood,  in  the  original).  Chapter  IV  of 
Genesis  contains  in  truth,  the  allegorical  narrative  of  that  period  of  an- 
thropological and  physiological  evolution  which  is  described  in  the 
Secret  Doctrine  when  treating  of  the  third  Root  race  of  mankind.  It  is 
followed  by  Chai)ter  V  as  a  blind:  but  ought  to  be  succeeded  by  Chap- 
ter VI.  where  the  Sons  of  God  took  as  their  wives  the  daughters  of  men 


152  THEOSOPHICAI, 

or  of  tile  f^iants.  For  this  is  an  allcj^orv  liiiitinj;  at  tlic  iiiystrry  of  the 
lJivin(  Egos  incarnatiiij;  in  mankind,  after  wliieh  the  hitherto  s(  useless 
races  "Weanie  mijrhty  men,  .  .  men  of  renown''  (v.  4),  having  ac- 
(juired  minds  (mauas)  which  they  had  not  before. 

Jehovah  Nissi  (llrh.).  The  andropryne  of  Nissi  (See  "Diony- 
sos").  The  .lews  worshipped  nnder  this  name  Bacchus-Osiris,  Dio- 
Nysds,  and  t)u'  multiform  .Toves  of  Nyssa,  the  Sinai  of  jNIoses.  Universal 
tradition  shews  Baeehus  reared  in  a  cave  of  Nysa.  Diodonis  locates 
Nysa  between  Plia^nicia  and  Egypt,  and  adds,  "Osiris  was  brought  up 
in  Nysa  ....  he  was  sou  of  Zeus  and  was  named  from  his  father 
(nominative  Zeus,  jicuitive  Dios)  and  the  jilace  Dio-nysos" — the  Zeus  or 
-love  of  Nyssa. 

Jerusalem,  Jirosahnt  (S(  piiKHjj  and  Ilicrosoh/nxi  (Vulgate). 
\]\  Hebrew  it  is  written  Yrshlim  or  "city  of  peace",  but  the  ancient 
Greeks  called  it  pertinently  Jlirrosalcm  or  "Secret  Salem",  since  Jeru- 
.salem  is  a  rebirtli  from  Salem  of  which  Melchizedek  was  the  King-Hiero- 
phant.  a  declared  Astrolator  and  worshipper  of  the  Sun,  "the  Most 
High""  l)y-the-bye.  There  also  Adoni-Zedek  reigned  in  his  turn,  and 
was  the  last  of  its  Amorite  Sovereigns,  lie  allied  himself  with  four 
others,  and  these  five  kings  went  to  conquer  back  Gideon,  but  (according 
to  Joshua  X)  came  out  of  the  fray  second  best.  And  no  wonder,  since 
these  five  kings  were  opposed,  not  only  by  Joshua  but  by  the  "Lord 
God",  and  by  the  Sun  and  the  ]\Ioon  also.  On  that  day,  we  read,  at  the 
command  of  the  successor  of  Closes,  "the  sun  stood  still  and  the  moon 
stayed"  (v.  13)  for  the  whole  day.  No  mortal  man,  king  or  yeoman, 
could  witlistand.  of  course,  such  a  shower  "of  great  stones  from  heaven" 
as  was  cast  upon  them  by  the  Lord  himself  .  .  .  "from  Beth-horon 
unto  Azekah"  ...  "and  they  died"  (v.  11).  After  having  died 
they  "fled  and  hid  themselves  in  a  cave  at  Makkedah"  (v.  16).  It  ap- 
pears, however,  that  such  undignified  beliaviour  in  a  God  received  its 
Karmic  punishment  afterwards.  At  different  epochs  of  history,  the 
Temple  of  the  Jewisli  Lord  was  sacked,  ruined  and  burnt  (See  "Mount 
Moriah") — holy  ark  of  the  covenant,  cherubs,  Shekinah  and  all,  but 
tliat  deity  seemed  as  powerless  to  protect  his  property  from  desecration 
as  though  there  were  no  more  stones  left  in  heaven.  After  Pompey  had 
taken  tlie  Second  Temple  in  63,  n.c,  and  the  third  one,  built  by  Herod 
the  Great,  had  been  razed  to  the  ground  by  the  Romans,  in  70  a.d.,  no 
new  temple  was  allowed  to  be  built  in  the  capitol  of  the  "chosen  people" 
of  the  Lord.  In  spite  of  the  Crusades,  since  the  XII Ith  century  Jeru- 
salem has  belonged  to  the  ]Mahommedans,  and  almost  every  site  holy 
and  dear  to  the  memory  of  the  old  Israelites,  and  also  of  the  Christians, 
is  now  covered  by  minarets  and  mosques,  Turkish  barracks  and  other 
monuments  of  Lslam. 

Jesod  (Ilch.).  Foundation;  the  ninth  of  the  Ten  Sephiroth,  a  mas- 
culine active  potency,  completing  the  six  which  form  the  Microprosopus. 
[w.w.w.] 


GLOSSARY  153 

Jetzirah   filch.).     Si'c  "Yetzirah". 

Jetzirah,  Srphrr;  or  Book  of  the  Creation.  The  most  occult  of  all 
the  Kabalistic  works  now  in  the  possession  of  modern  mystics.  Its  al- 
leged origin,  of  having  been  written  by  Abraham,  is  of  course  nonsense; 
but  its  intrinsic  value  is  great.  It  is  composed  of  six  Perakim  (chap- 
ters), subdivided  into  thirty-three  short  Mishnas  or  Sections;  and  treats 
of  the  evolution  of  the  Universe  on  a  system  of  correspondences  and 
numbers.  Deity  is  said  therein  to  have  formed  ("created")  the  Uni- 
verse by  means  of  numbers  "by  thirty-two  paths  (or  ways)  of  secret 
wisdom",  these  ways  being  made  to  correspond  with  the  twenty-two 
letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet  and  the  ten  fundamental  numbers.  These 
ten  are  the  primordial  numbers  whence  proceeded  the  whole  Universe, 
and  these  are  followed  by  the  twenty-two  letters  divided  into  Three 
Mbthrra,  the  seven  double  consonants  and  the  twelve  simple  consonants. 
He  wlio  would  well  understand  the  system  is  advised  to  read  tlie  excellent 
little  treatise  upon  Sepher  Jetzirah,  by  Dr.  W.  Wynn  Westcott.  (See 
"Yetzirah".) 

Jhana  (Sk.).    or  Jndtui.    Knowledge;  Occult  Wisdom. 

Jhana  Bhaskara  (Sk.).  A  work  on  Asuramaya,  the  Atlanteau  astrono- 
mer and  magician,  and  other  prehistoric  legends. 

Jigten  Gonpo  (Tib.).  A  name  of  Avalokitesivara,  or  Chenrcsi- 
Padmapani,  the  "Protector  against  Evil". 

Jishnu  (Sk.).  "Leader  of  the  Celestial  Ho.st",  a  title  of  Indra. 
who.  in  the  War  of  the  Gods  w^ith  the  Asuras,  led  the  "host  of  devas". 
He  is  the  "Michael,  the  leader  of  the  Archangels"  of  India. 

Jiva  (Sk.).  Life,  as  the  Absolute;  the  Monad  also  or  "Atma-Buddhi". 

Jivanmukta  (Sk.).  An  adept  or  yogi  who  has  reached  the  ulti- 
mate state  of  holiness,  and  separated  himself  from  matter ;  a  ^Lihatma,  or 
Nirvanee,  a  "dweller  in  bliss"  and  emancipation.  Virtually  one  who 
has  reached  Nirvana  during  life. 

Jivatma  (Sk.).  The  oxe  universal  life,  generally;  but  also  the  divine 
Spirit  in  Man. 

Jnanam  (Sk.).  The  same  as  "Gnana".  etc.  the  same  as  "Jhana" 
(^•i'.)- 

Jnanendriyas  (Sk.).     The  five  channels  of  knowledge. 

Jnana  Sakti  (Sk.).     Tiie  power  of  intellect. 

Jord.  In  Northern  Gei-niany  the  goddess  of  the  Earth,  the  same  as 
Xerthus  and  the  Scandinavian  Freya  or  Frigg. 

Jotunheim  (Scand.).     The  land  of  the  Ilrimthurses  or  Frost-giants. 

Jotuns  (Scand.).  The  Titans  or  giants.  Mimir,  who  taught  Odin 
magic,  the  "thrice  wise",  was  a  Jotun. 

Jul  (Scand.).  The  wlieel  of  the  Sun  from  whence  Yulctidc,  which 
was  .sacred  to  Freyer,  or  Fro,  the  Sun-god,  the  ripener  of  the  fields  and 


154  THEOSOr']II(AL 

fruits,  admitted  latci-  to  the  circle  of  the  Ases.  As  god  of  sunshine  and 
fruitful  liarvests  he  lived  in  the  Home  of  the  Light  Elves. 

Jupiter  (Lot.).  From  the  same  root  as  tiu-  Greek  Zeus,  the  great- 
est god  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  adopted  also  by  other  nations. 
His  names  are  among  others:  (1)  Jupiter-Aerios;  (2)  Jupiter-Amraon 
of  Egypt;  (3)  Jupiter  Bel-]\Ioloeh,  the  Chaldean;  (4)  Jupiter-I\Iundus, 
Deus  Mundus,  "God  of  the  World";  (5)  Jupiter-Fulgur,  "the  Fulgur- 
ant''.  etc.,  etc. 

Jyotisha  (Sk.).     Astronomy  and  Astrology;  one  of  the  Vcdangas. 

Jyotisham  Jyotch  (Sk.).  Tiie  "light  of  lights",  the  Supreme 
Spirit,  so  called  in  the  Upanishnds. 

Jyotsna  (ISk.).  Dawn;  one  of  the  l)0(lies  assumed  by  lli'alima;  thi' 
morninii'  twilijrht. 


GLOSSARY  155 


K. 


K. 


-The  eU'veiitli  letter  in  both  tlie  En{:^lisli  and  tlie  Hebrew  alphabets. 
As  a  numeral  it  stands  in  the  latter  for  20,  and  in  the  former  for  250. 
and  with  a  stroke  over  it  (K)  for  250,000.  The  Kabalists  and  the  Masons 
appropriate  the  Kodrsh  or  Kadosh  as  the  name  of  the  Jewish  god  under 
this  letter. 

Ka  (SkJ.  According-  to  Max  .Miiller,  the  interro<rative  pronoun 
"who-" — raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  deity  without  cause  or  rea.son.  Still 
it  has  its  esoteric  significance  and  is  a  name  of  Brahma  in  his  phallic 
character  as  generator  or  Prajapati  (q.v.). 

Kabah  or  Kauha  (Arab.).  The  name  of  the  famous  Mahonnnedan 
temple  at  ^lecca,  a  great  place  of  pilgrimage.  The  edifice  is  not  large 
but  very  original;  of  a  cubical  form  23X24  cubits  in  length  and  breadth 
and  27  cubits  high,  with  only  one  aperture  on  the  East  side  to  admit 
light.  In  the  north-east  corner  is  the  "black-stone"  of  Kaaba,  said  to 
have  been  lowered  down  direct  from  heaven  and  to  have  been  as  white 
as  snow,  but  subsequently  it  became  black,  owing  to  the  sins  of  mankind. 
The  "white  stone",  the  reputed  tomb  of  Ismael,  is  in  the  north  side  and 
the  place  of  Abraham  is  to  the  east.  If,  as  the  ilahommedans  claim, 
this  temple  was,  at  the  prayer  of  Adam  after  his  exile,  transferred  by 
Allah  or  Jehovah  direct  from  Eden  down  to  earth,  then  the  "heathen" 
may  truly  claim  to  have  far  exceeded  tlie  divine  i)rimordial  architecture 
in  tlie  beauty  of  their  edifices. 

Kabalist.  From  Q  B  L  II,  K.mula,  an  unwritten  or  oral  tradition. 
The  kabalist  is  a  student  of  "secret  science",  one  who  interprets  the 
iiidden  moaning  of  the  Scriptures  with  the  help  of  the  syml^olical  Kahola, 
and  explains  the  real  one  by  these  means.  Tlie  Tanai'm  were  the  first 
kabalists  among  the  Jews;  they  api>eared  at  Jerusalem  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  third  century  before  the  Christian  era.  The  books  of  Ezckicl, 
Darnel,  Henoch,  and  the  Revelation  of  St.  John,  are  purely  kabalistical. 
This  secret  doctrine  is  identified  with  that  of  the  Chaldean.s,  and  includes 
at  the  same  time  much  of  the  Persian  wi.sdom,  or  "magic".  History 
catches  glimpses  of  famous  kabalists  ever  since  the  eleventh  century. 
The  Mediffival  ages,  and  even  our  own  times,  have  had  an  enormous 
number  of  the  most  learned  and  intelleetual  men  who  were  students  of 
the  Kahala  (or  Qabbalah.  as  some  spell  it).  The  most  famous  among  the 
former  were  Paracelsus,  Henry  Khunrath,  Jacob  Biilimen,  Robert  Fludd, 
the  two  Van  Ilelmonts,  the  Abbot  John  Trithemius.  Cornelius  Agrippa, 
Cardinal  Nicolao  Cusani.  Jerome  Carden,  Pope  Sixtus  IV.,  and  such 
Christian  scholars  as  Ravmond   Lnllv.  Giovanni  Pico  de  la  Mirandola, 


156  TlllOOSOl'lIh  AI, 

Guillauiiif  Postol.  the  jrrcat  Joliii  Kcucliliii.  Dr.  Ilfiii-y  Moit.  Imij^ciuus 
Philalctht's  (Thomas  Vauj;han).  tlio  onulito  Jesuit  Atlianasiiiss  Kirehor. 
Christian  Knorr  (Baron)  von  Roscnroth  ;  then  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Leib- 
niz, Lord  Bacon,  Spinosa.  etc..  etc.,  the  list  being  almost  inexhaustible. 
As  remarked  by  Mr.  Isaac  Myer,  in  his  Qabbalah,  the  ideas  of  the  Kabal- 
ists  have  largely  influenced  European  literature.  "Upon  the  i)raetical 
Qabbalah,  the  Abbe  de  \'illars  (nephew  of  the  de  Montfaucon)  in  1670. 
published  his  celebrated  .satirical  novel,  'The  Count  de  Gabalis',  upon 
which  Pope  ba.sed  his  'Rape  of  the  Lock'.  Qabbalisni  ran  tlii-ough  the 
Mediaeval  poems,  the  'Romance  of  the  Rose',  and  permeates  the  writings 
of  Dante."  No  two  of  them,  however,  agreed  upon  the  origin  of  the 
Kabala,  the  Zohar,  ScpJu  r  Yctzirah,  etc.  Some  show  it  as  coming  from 
the  Biblical  Patriarchs,  Abraham,  and  even  Seth ;  others  from  Egypt. 
otiiers  again  from  Chaldea.  The  sy.stem  is  certainly  very  old  ;  but  like 
all  the  rest  of  systems,  whether  religious  or  philosophical,  the  Kabala  is 
derived  directly  from  the  primeval  Secret  Doctrine  of  the  East ;  througli 
the  Vedas,  the  Upanishada,  Orpheus  and  Thales,  Pythagoras  and  the 
Egyptians.  Whatever  its  source,  its  substratum  is  at  any  rate  identical 
with  that  of  all  the  other  systems  from  the  Book  of  the  Dead  down  to  the 
later  Gnostics.  The  best  exponents  of  the  Kahala  in  the  Theosophical 
Society  were  among  the  earliest.  Dr.  S.  Pancoast,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
Mr.  G.  Felt ;  and  among  the  latest.  Dr.  W.  Wynu  Westcott.  Mr.  S.  L. 
Mac  Gregor  Mathers  (both  of  the  Rosierucian  College)  and  a  few  others. 
(See  "Qabbalah".) 

Kabalistic  Faces.  These  are  Xe])hesch,  Ruach  and  Nesehamah, 
or  tlie  animal  (vital),  the  Spiritual  and  the  Divine  Souls  in  man — Body, 
Soul  and  Mind. 

Kabalah  fllfh.).  The  hidden  wisdom  of  the  Hebrew  Rabbis  of  the 
middle  ages  derived  from  the  older  secret  doctrines  concerning  divine 
tilings  and  cosmogony,  which  were  combined  into  a  theology  after  the 
time  of  the  captivity  of  the  Jews  in  Babylon.  All  the  works  that  fall 
under  the  esoteric  category  are  termed  Kabalistic. 

Kabiri  (Phan.).  or  the  Kahirim.  Deities  and  very  mysterious  gods 
with  the  ancient  nations,  including  the  Israelites,  some  of  whom — as 
Terah,  Abram's  father — worshipped  them  under  the  name  of  Tcrephini. 
With  the  Christians,  however,  they  are  now  devils,  although  the  modern 
Archangels  are  the  direct  transformation  of  these  .same  Kabiri.  In 
Hebrew  the  latter  name  means  "the  mighty  ones",  Gihhorim.  At  one 
time  all  the  deities  connected  with  fire — whether  they  were  divine,  in- 
fernal or  volcanic — were  called  Kabirian. 

Kadmon  (Ilch.).     Archetypal  man.     See  "Adam  Kadmon". 

Kadosh  (Hch.).  Consecreted,  holy;  also  written  Kodcsh.  Some- 
thing set  apart  for  temple  worship.  But  between  the  etymological  mean- 
ing of  the  word,  and  its  subsequent  significance  in  application  to  the 
Kadeshim  (the  "priests"  .set  apart  for, certain  temple  rites) — there  is  an 


OLOSSARY  157 

abyss.  The  words  Kadosh  and  Kadcskim  are  used  in  II.  Kings  as  rather 
an  opprobrious  name,  for  the  Kadeshuth  of  the  Bible  were  identical  in 
their  office  and  duties  with  the  Nautch  girls  of  some  Hindu  temples. 
They  were  Galli,  the  mutilated  priests  of  the  lascivious  rites  of  Venus 
Astarte,  who  lived  "by  the  house  of  the  Lord".  Curiously  enough  the 
terms  Kadosh,  etc.,  were  appropriated  and  used  by  several  degrees  of 
Masonic  knighthood. 

Kailasa  (S.).  In  metaphysics  "heaven'',  the  abode  of  gods: 
geographically  a  mountain  range  in  the  Himalayas,  north  of  the  Man- 
saravara  lake,  called  also  lake  Manasa. 

Kailem  (Hth.).  Lit.,  vessels  or  vehicles;  the  vases  for  the  source  of 
the  Waters  of  Life ;  used  of  the  Ten  Sephiroth,  considered  as  the  prime- 
val nuclei  of  all  Kosmic  Forces.  Some  Kabalists  regard  them  as  man- 
ifesting in  the  universe  through  twenty-two  canals,  which  are  repre- 
sented by  the  twenty -two  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  thus  making 
with  tlie  Ten  Sephiroth  thirty-two  paths  of  wisdom,     [w.w'.w.] 

Kaimarath  (Pcrs.).  The  last  of  the  race  of  the  prehuman  kings. 
He  is  identical  with  Adam  Kadmon.  A  fabulous  Persian  hero. 

Kakodaemon  (Gr.).  The  evil  genius  as  opposed  to  AfjathodcEmon. 
the  good  genius,  or  deity.    A  Gnostic  term. 

Kala  (Sl\).  A  measure  of  time;  four  hours',  a  period  of  thirty 
Kashthas. 

Kala  (Sk.).  Time,  fate;  a  cycle  and  a  proper  name,  or  title  given 
to  Yama,  King  of  the  nether  world  and  Judge  of  the  Dead. 

Kalabhana  (Sk.).  The  same  as  Taraka  (See  Secret  Doctrine,  Vol. 
II.,  p.  382,  foot-note). 

Kalagui  (Sk.).  The  tlame  of  time.  A  divine  Being  created  by 
Siva,  a  monster  with  1,000  heads.  A  title  of  Siva  meaning  "the  fire  of 
fate". 

Kalahansa  oi-  Ilamsa  (Sk.).  A  mystic  title  given  to  Brahma  (or 
Parabrahnian)  ;  means  "the  swan  in  and  out  of  time".  Brahma  (male) 
is  called  Ilansa-Vahan,  the  vehicle  of  the  "Swan". 

Kalavingka  (Sk.).  also  Kuravikaya  and  Karanda,  etc.  "The 
sweet-voiced  bird  of  immortality".  Eitel  identifies  it  with  cuculus  mel- 
anolcicus,  though  the  bird  itself  is  allegorical  and  non-existent.  Its 
voice  is  heard  at  a  certain  stage  of  Dhj/ana  in  Yoga  practice.  It  is  said 
to  have  awakened  King  Bimbisara  and  tlius  saved  him  from  the  sting 
of  a  cobra.  In  its  esoteric  meaning  this  sweet-voiced  bird  is  our  Higher 
Ego. 

Kalevala.     The  Finnish  Epic  of  Creation. 

Kali  (Sk.).  The  "black",  now  the  name  of  Parvati,  the  consort  of 
Siva,  but  originally  that  of  one  of  the  seven  tongues  of  Agni,  the  god  of 
fire — "the  black,  fiery  tongue".     Evil  and  wickedness. 

Kakidasa  (Sk.).    The  greatest  poet  and  dramatist  of  India. 


158  THEOSOPHICAL 

Kaliya  (Sk.).  Tlio  five-headed  serpent  killed  by  Krishna  in  liis 
cliilillKjod.  A  mystieal  monster  symbolizintr  the  passions  of  man — the 
riwr  or  wattT  being:  a  symbol  of  matter. 

Kaliyuga  (Sh-.).  The  fourth,  the  hlack  or  iron  af;e,  our  present 
period,  the  duration  of  which  is  432,000  years.  The  last  of  the  ages  into 
which  the  evolutionary  period  of  man  is  divided  by  a  series  of  such 
ages.  It  began  3,102  years  B.C.  at  the  moment  of  Krishna's  death,  and 
the  first  cycle  of  5.000  years  will  end  between  the  years  1897  and  1898. 

Kalki  Avatar  (Sk.).  The  "White  Horse  Avatar",  which  will  be  the 
last  manvantaric  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  according  to  the  Brahmins : 
of  Maitreya  Buddha,  agreeably  to  Northern  Buddhists;  of  Sosiosh,  the 
last  hero  and  Saviour  of  the  Zoroastrians,  as  claimed  by  Parsis ;  and  of 
the  "Faithful  and  True"  on  the  white  Ilor.se  (Rev.  xix.,  2).  In  his  future 
epiphany  or  tenth  avatar,  the  heavens  will  open  and  Vislmu  will  appear 
"si-ated  on  a  milk-wliite  steed,  with  a  drawn  sword  blazing  like  a  comet, 
for  the  final  destruction  of  the  wicked,  the  renovation  of  'creation'  and 
the  'restoration  of  purity'  ".  (Compare  Revelations.)  This  will  take 
place  at  the  end  of  the  Kaliyuga  427,000  years  hence.  The  latter  end 
of  every  Yuga  is  called  "the  destruction  of  the  world",  as  then  the  earth 
changes  each  time  its  outward  form,  submerging  one  set  of  continents 
and  upheaving  another  set. 

Kalluka  Bhatta  (Sk.).  A  commentator  of  the  Hindu  Manu 
Sniriti  Seripturcs;  a  well-known  writer  and  historian. 

Kalpa  (Sk.).  The  period  of  a  mundane  revolution,  generally  a 
cycle  of  time,  but  usually,  it  represents  a  "day"  and  "night"  of 
Brahma,  a  period  of  4,320,000,000  years. 

Kama  (Sk.).  Evil  desire,  lust,  volition;  the  cleaving  to  existence. 
Kama  is  generally  identified  with  Mara,  the  tempter, 

Kamadeva  (Sk.).  In  the  popular  notions  the  god  of  love,  a  Visva- 
deva,  in  the  Hindu  Pantheon.  As  the  Eros  of  Hesiod,  degraded  into 
Cupid  by  exoteric  law,  and  still  more  degraded  by  a  later  popular  sense 
attributed  to  the  term,  so  is  Kama  a  most  mysterious  and  metaphysical 
subject.  The  earlier  Vedic  description  of  Kama  alone  gives  the  key-note 
to  what  he  emblematizes.  Kama  is  the  first  conscious,  all  enibracing  desire 
for  universal  good,  love,  and  for  all  that  lives  and  feels,  needs  help  and 
kindness,  the  first  feeling  of  infinite  tender  compassion  and  mercy  that 
arose  in  the  consciousness  of  the  creative  One  Force,  as  soon  as  it  came 
into  life  and  being  as  a  ray  from  the  Absolute.  Says  the  Rig  Veda, 
"Desire  first  arose  in  It,  which  was  the  primal  germ  of  mind,  and  which 
Sages,  searching  with  their  intellect,  have  discovered  in  their  heart  to  be 
the  bond  which  connects  Entity  with  non-Entity'',  or  Manas  with  pure 
Atma-Buddhi.  There  is  no  idea  of  sexual  love  in  the  conception.  Kama 
is  pre-eminently  the  divine  desire  of  creating  happiness  and  love ;  and 
it  is  only  ages  later,  as  mankind  began  to  materialize  by  anthropomor- 
phization  its  grandest  ideals  into  cut  and  dried  dogmas,  that  Kama  be- 


GLOSSARY  159 

came  the  power  that  gratifies  desire  on  the  animal  plane.  This  is  shown 
by  what  every  Veda  and  some  Brahmanas  say.  In  the  Atharva  Ved^, 
Kama  is  represented  as  the  Supreme  Deity  and  Creator.  In  the  Tai- 
tar'iya  Brahmann,  he  is  the  child  of  Dliarnia.  the  god  of  Law  and  Justice, 
of  Sraddha  and  faith.  In  another  account  he  springs  from  the  heart 
of  Brahmji.  Others  show  him  born  from  water  i.e.,  from  primordial 
chaos,  or  the  "Deep".  Hence  one  of  his  many  names,  Ird-ja,  "the  water- 
born";  and  Aja,  "unborn";  and  Atmahhu  or  "Self-existent".  Because 
of  the  sign  of  Mnl-ara  (Capricornus)  on  his  banner,  he  is  also  called 
"Makara  Ketu".  Tlie  allegory  about  Siva,  the  "Great  Yogin",  reduc- 
ing Kama  to  ashes  by  the  fire  from  his  central  (or  third)  Eife,  for  in- 
spiring the  Mahadeva  with  thoughts  of  his  wife,  while  he  was  at  his 
devotions — is  verj^  suggestive,  as  it  is  said  that  he  thereby  reduced  Kama 
to  his  primeval  spiritual  form. 

Kamadhatu  (Sk.).  Called  also  Kamavatchara,  a  region  including 
Kamaloka.  In  exoteric  ideas  it  is  the  first  of  the  Trailokya — or  three 
regions  (applied  also  to  celestial  beings)  or  seven  planes  or  degrees,  each 
broadly  represented  by  one  of  the  three  chief  characteristics;  namely. 
Kama,  Rupa  and  Arujia,  or  those  of  desire,  form  and  formlessness.  The 
first  of  the  Trailokyas,  Kamadhatu,  is  thus  composed  of  the  earth  and 
the  six  inferior  Devalokas,  the  earth  being  followed  by  Kamaloka  (q.v.). 
These  taken  together  constitute  the  seven  degrees  of  the  material  world 
of  form  and  sensuous  gratification.  The  second  of  the  Trail6k>'a  (or 
Trilola'a)  is  called  Rupadhdtu  or  "material  form"  and  is  also  composed 
of  seven  Lokas  (or  localities).  The  third  is  Arupadhatu  or  "immaterial 
lokas".  "Locality",  however,  is  an  incorrect  word  to  use  m  translating 
the  term  dhdtu,  which  does  not  mean  in  some  of  its  special  applications  a 
"place"  at  all.  For  instance,  Arupadhatu  is  a  purely  subjective  world, 
a  "state"  rather  than  a  place.  But  as  the  European  tongues  have  no 
adequate  metaphysical  terms  to  express  certain  ideas,  we  can  only  point 
out  tlie  difficulty. 

Kamaloka  (Sk.).  The  »SV»??-material  plane,  to  us  sul»jective  and 
invisible,  where  the  disembodied  "personalities",  the  astral  forms,  called 
Kamarupa  remain,  until  they  fade  out  from  it  by  the  complete  exhaus- 
tion of  the  effects  of  the  mental  impulses  that  created  these  eidolons  of 
human  and  animal  passions  and  desires.  (See  "Kamarupa".)  It  is  the 
Hades  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  the  Amcnti  of  the  Egyptians,  the  land 
of  Silent  Shadows;  a  division  of  the  first  group  of  the  Trailokya.  (See 
"Kaniadliatu". 

Kamarupa  (Sk.).  ^Metaphysically,  and  in  our  esoteric  philosophy, 
it  is  tlie  subjective  form  created  through  tiie  mental  and  physical  desires 
and  thoughts  in  connection  with  things  of  matter,  by  all  sentient  beings. 
a  form  which  survives  tlie  death  of  their  bodies.  After  that  death  three 
of  these  seven  "principles" — or  let  us  say  planes  of  senses  and  conscious- 
ness on  wiiich  the  human  instincts  and  ideation  act  in  turn — viz.,  the 


160  THEOSOPHICAL 

body,  its  astral  prototype  and  ])hysieal  vitality, — being  of  no  further 
use,  remain  on  earth  ;  tliree  liigher  prineiph'S,  grouped  into  one.  merg*^ 
into  the  state  of  Devaehan  {([.v.),  in  wliieh  state  the  Ilijjhcr  Ego  will 
remain  until  the  hour  for  a  new  reincarnation  arrives;  and  the  eidolon 
of  the  ex-Personality  is  left  alone  in  its  new  abode.  Here,  the  pale  copy 
of  the  man  that  was,  vegetates  for  a  period  of  time,  the  duration  of 
which  is  variable  and  according  to  the  element  of  materiality  which  is 
left  in  it.  and  which  is  determined  by  the  past  life  of  the  defunct.  Bereft 
as  it  is  of  its  higher  mind,  spirit  and  physical  senses,  if  left  alone  to  its 
own  senseless  devices,  it  will  gradually  fade  out  and  disintegrate.  But, 
if  forcibly  drawn  back  into  the  terrestrial  sphere  whether  by  the  pas- 
sionate desires  and  appeals  of  the  surviving  friends  or  by  regular  necro- 
mantic practices — one  of  the  most  pernicious  of  which  is  mediumship — 
the  "spook"  may  prevail  for  a  period  greatly  exceeding  the  span  of  the 
natural  life  of  its  body.  Once  the  Kamarupa  has  learnt  the  way  back 
to  living  human  bodies,  it  becomes  a  vampire,  feeding  on  the  vitality  of 
those  who  are  so  anxious  for  its  company.  In  India  the  eidolons  are 
called  Pisdchas,  and  are  much  dreaded,  as  already  explained  elsewhere. 

Kamea  (Ilch.).    An  amulet,  generally  a  magic  square. 

Kandu  (Sk.).  A  holy  sage  of  the  second  root-race,  a  yogi,  whom 
Pramlocha,  a  "nymph"  sent  by  Indra  for  that  purpose,  beguiled,  and 
lived  with  for  several  centuries.  Finally,  the  Sage  returning  to  his 
senses,  repudiated  and  chased  her  away.  Whereupon  she  gave  birth  to 
a  daughter,  Marisha.  The  story  is  in  an  allegorical  fable  from  the 
Purdnas. 

Kanishka  (Sk.).  A  King  of  the  Tochari,  who  flourished  when  the 
third  Buddhist  Synod  met  in  Kashmir,  i.e.  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  B.C.,  a  great  patron  of  Buddhism,  he  built  the  finest  stupas  or 
dagobas  in  Northern  India  and  Kabulistan. 

Kanishthas  (Sk.).  A  class  of  gods  wiiich  will  manifest  in  the 
fourteenth  or  last  manvantara  of  our  world — according  to  the  Hindus. 

Kanya  (Sk.).  A  virgin  or  maiden.  Kanya  Kumdrt  "the  virgin- 
maiden"  is  the  title  of  Durga-Kali,  worshipped  by  the  Thugs  and  Tan- 
trikas. 

Kapila  Rishi  (Sk.).  A  great  sage,  a  great  adept  of  antiquity;  the 
author  of  the  Sankhya  philosophy. 

Kapila vastu  (Sk.).  The  birth-place  of  the  Lord  Buddha;  called 
"the  yellow  dwelling":  the  capital  of  the  monarch  who  was  the  father 
of  Gautama  Buddha. 

Karabtanos  (Gr.).  The  spirit  of  blind  or  animal  desire;  the 
symbol  of  Kama-rupa.  The  Spirit  "without  sense  or  judgment"  in  the 
Codex  of  the  Nazarenes.  He  is  the  symbol  of  matter  and  stands  for  the 
father  of  the  seven  spirits  of  concupiscence  begotten  by  him  on  his 
mother,  the  "Spiritus"  or  the  Astral  Light. 


GLOSSARY  1 G 1 

Karam  (Skj.  A  great  festival  in  lionour  of  the  Sun-Spirit  witli  the 
Kolarian  tribes. 

Karana   fSI:.).     Cause (   metaphysically). 

Karana  Sarira  (Sk.).  The  "Causal  body".  It  is  dual  in  it^ 
meaning.  Exoterieally,  it  is  Avidjfa,  ignorance,  or  that  which  is  the 
cause  of  the  evolution  of  a  human  ego  and  its  reincarnation ;  hence  the 
lower  Manas  esoterically — the  causal  body  or  Knrnnopmlhi  stands  in  the 
Taraka  Rajayoga  as  corresponding  to  Buddhi  and  the  Higher  "Manas", 
or  Spiritual  Soul. 

Karanda  (Sk.).  The  " s^veet-voiced  bird*',  the  same  as  Kalavingka 
'l.r.). 

Karanopadhi  (Sk.).  The  basis  or  upadhi  of  Karana,  the  "causal 
soul".  In  Taraka  Rajayoga,  it  corresponds  with  botli  Mdmis  and  Bud- 
dhi.   See  Table  in  the  Secret  Doctrine,  Vol.  I.,  p.  157. 

Kardecists.  The  followers  of  the  spiritual  system  or  Allan  Kar- 
dec,  the  Frenchman  who  founded  the  modern  movement  of  the  Spiritist 
School.  The  Spiritists  of  France  differ  from  the  American  and  English 
Spiritualists  in  that  their  "Spirits"  teach  reincarnatioii,  while  tho.se  of 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  denounce  this  belief  as  a  heretical 
fallacy  and  abuse  and  slander  those  who  accept  it.  "When  Spirits  dis- 
agree    .     .     ." 

Karma  (Sk.).  Physically,  action:  metaphysically,  the  L.vw  of  Re- 
TRiBi'TiON,  the  Law  of  cause  and  effect  or  Ethical  Causation.  Nemesis, 
only  in  one  sense,  that  of  bad  Karma.  It  is  the  eleventh  Nidana  in  the 
concatenation  of  causes  and  effects  in  orthodox  Buddhism ;  yet  it  is  the 
power  that  controls  all  things,  the  resultant  of  moral  action,  the  meta- 
physical Sam.<ikdra,  or  the  moral  effect  of  an  act  committed  for  the  at- 
tainment of  something  which  gratifies  a  personal  desire.  There  is  the 
Karma  of  merit  and  the  Karma  of  demerit.  Karma  neither  punishes 
nor  rewards,  it  is  simply  the  ono  Universal  Law  which  guides  unerringly, 
and,  so  to  say,  blindly,  all  other  laws  productive  of  certain  effects  along 
the  grooves  of  their  respective  causations.  When  Buddhism  teaches 
that  "Karma  is  that  moral  kernel  (of  any  being)  which  alone  survives 
death  and  continues  in  transmigration"  or  reincarnation,  it  simply 
means  that  there  remains  nought  after  each  Personality  but  the  causes 
produced  by  it ;  causes  which  are  undying,  i.e.,  which  cannot  be  elim- 
inated from  the  Universe  until  replaced  by  their  legitimate  effects,  and 
wiped  out  by  them,  so  to  speak,  and  such  causes — unless  compensated 
during  the  life  of  the  person  who  produced  them  with  adequate  effects, 
will  follow  the  reincarnated  Ego,  and  reach  it  in  its  subsequent  re- 
incarnation until  a  harmony  between  effects  and  causes  is  fully  re-estab- 
lished. No  "personality" — a  mere  bundle  of  material  atoms  and  of 
instinctual  and  mental  characteristics — can  of  course  continue,  as  such, 
in  the  world  of  pure  Spirit.  Only  that  which  is  immortal  in  its  very 
"ature  and  divine  in  its  essence,  namely,  the  Ego,  can  exist  forever. 


162  TllKOcSul'llh  .U. 

Ami  as  it  is  that  Epro  whii-h  cliooses  tlie  persoiiHlity  it  will  inform,  after 
cacli  Dfvachaii.  and  which  rrci-ivi'S  tijroufjh  these  personalities  the  ef- 
fects of  the  Karinie  causes  produced,  it  is  therefore  the  hl^o,  that  self 
which  is  the  "moral  kernel"  referred  to  and  embodied  karma,  "which 
alone  siirvivcs  death." 

Karnak  (Eg.).  The  ruins  of  \hv  ancient  teinjiles,  and  palaces  which 
now  stand  on  the  emplacement  of  ancient  Thehes.  The  most  mapnifi- 
ceiit  representatives  of  the  art  and  skill  of  the  earliest  Ejryptians.  A  few 
lines  quoted  from  ChampoUion,  Denon  and  an  Eujrlish  traveller,  show 
most  eloquently  what  these  ruins  are.  Of  Karnak  ChampoUion  writes: 
— "The  grround  covered  by  the  mass  of  remainin<r  huildiiifrs  is  scpiare ; 
and  each  side  mea.sures  1.800  feet.  One  is  astonished  and  vvtrcomc  by  ihr 
(/rdiidi  itr  of  the  sublime  remnants,  the  j)rodi}rality  and  magnificence  of 
workmanshij)  to  l)e  seen  everywhere.  No  people  of  ancient  or  modern 
times  has  conceived  the  art  of  architecture  upon  a  scale  so  sublime,  so 
prrandiose  as  it  existed  among  the  ancient  Egyptians;  and  the  imagina- 
tion, which  in  Europe  soars  far  above  our  porticos,  arrests  itself  otid  falls 
l)oii'i  rhss  at  the  foot  of  the  hundred  and  forty  columns  or  the  hypostyle 
of  Karnak!  In  one  of  its  halls,  the  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  might 
stand  and  not  touch  the  ceiling,  but  be  considered  as  a  small  ornament 
in  the  ct-ntre  of  the  hall." 

Another  writer  exclaims:  "Courts,  halls,  gateways,  pillars,  obelisks, 
monolithic  figures,  sculptures,  long  rows  of  sphinxes,  are  found  in  such 
profusion  at  Karnak,  that  the  sight  is  too  much  for  modern  compre- 
iiension."  Says  Denon,  the  French  traveller:  "Tt  is  hardly  possible  to 
believe,  after  seeing  it,  in  the  reality  of  the  existence  of  so  many  build- 
ings collected  together  on  a  single  jioint,  in  their  dimensions,  in  the  reso- 
lute perseverance  which  their  construction  required,  and  in  the  incalcul- 
able expenses  of  so  much  magnificence !  It  is  necessary  that  the  reader 
should  fancy  what  is  before  him  to  be  a  dream,  as  he  who  views  the 
objects  them.selves  occasionally  yields  to  the  doubt  whether  he  be  per- 
fectly awake.  ,  .  .  There  are  lakes  and  mountains  within  the  per- 
iphi  ry  of  the  sanctuary.  These  two  edifices  are  selected  as  i-xamples  from 
a  list  next  to  inexhaustible.  The  whole  valley  and  delta  of  the  Nile,  from 
the  cataracts  to  the  sea,  was  covered  with  temples,  palaces,  tombs,  pyra- 
mids, obelisks,  and  pillars.  The  execution  of  the  sculptures  is  beyond 
prais«'.  The  mechanical  perfection  with  wiiicli  artists  wrought  in  granite, 
serpentine,  breccia,  and  basalt,  is  wonderful,  according  to  all  the  exi)erts 
.  .  .  animals  and  plants  look  as  good  as  natural,  and  artificial  ob- 
.jects  are  beautifully  sculptured;  battles  by  sea  and  land,  and  scenes  of 
domestic  life  are  to  be  found  in  all  their  bas-rclicfs." 

Karnaim  (Jlcb.).  Horned,  an  attribute  of  Ashtoreth  and  Astarte : 
tho.se  horns  typify  the  male  element,  and  convert  the  deity  into  an  an- 
drogyne. Tsis  also  is  at  times  horned.  Compare  also  the  idea  of  the 
Cri  seriit  Moon — symbol  of  Isis — as  horned,    [w.w.w.] 

Karneios    'dr.).     "A])ollo  Karnt'ios''  i^  evidently   an   (iratar  of  the 


GLOSSARY  1$3 

Hindu  "Krishna  Kama".  Both  were  Sun-gods;  both  "Kama"  and 
Karntios  mraninjr  "radiant".     (See  the  Secret  Doctrine  II.,  p.  44.  note). 

Karshipta  (Mdzd.).  The  holy  bird  of  Heaven  in  the  Ma/.dcan 
Seriptures,  of  whieh  Ahura  Mazda  says  to  Zaratushta  tliat  "/»r  rf cites 
the  Avcsta  in  the  latifjuaffc  of  birds"  (Bund.  xix.  it  scq.).  Tlie  bird  is 
the  symbol  of  "Soul"  of  Angel  and  Deva  in  every  old  religion.  It  is 
ea.sy  to  see,  therefore,  that  this  "holy  ])ird"  means  the  divino  Ego  of  man. 
or  the  "Soul".   The  same  as  Karanda  {q.v.) 

Karshvare  (Zmd).  The  "seven  earths"  (our  septenary  ehain) 
over  whieli  rule  the  Amcsha  Spcnta,  the  Archangels  or  Dhyan  C'hohans 
of  the  Parsis.  The  seven  earths,  of  which  one  only,  namely  Hvanirata 
— our  earth — is  known  to  mortals.  The  Earths  (e.soterically),  or  seven 
divisions  (exoterically),  are  our  own  jilanetary  ehain  as  in  Esottric 
Buddhism  and  the  Secret  Doctrim  .  The  doctrine  is  plainly  stated  in 
Fargard  XIX.,  39,  of  the  Vcndidad. 

Kartikeya  (Sk.),  or  Kartika.  The  Indian  God  of  War,  son  of 
Siva,  born  of  his  seed  fallen  into  the  Ganges.  He  is  also  the  personifica- 
tion of  the  power  of  the  Logos.  Tlie  planet  ]\rars.  Kartika  is  a  very 
occult  personage,  a  nursling  of  the  Pleiades,  and  a  Kumara.  (See  Secret 
Doctrine.) 

Karuna-Bhawana  (Sh-j.  The  meditation  of  i)ity  and  compassion  in 
Yoga. 

Kasbeck.  The  mountain  in  the  Caucasian  range  where  Prometheus 
was  bound. 

Kasi  (Sk.).  Anotiier  and  more  ancient  name  of  the  holy  city  of 
Benares. 

Kasina  (Sk.).  A  mystic  Yoga  rite  used  to  free  the  mind  from  all 
agitation  and  bring  the  Kamic  element  to  a  dead  stand-still. 

Kasi  Khanda  (Sk.).  A  long  poem,  which  forms  a  part  of  the 
Skanda  J'un'nin,  and  contains  another  version  of  the  legend  of  Daksha's 
liead.  Having  lost  it  in  an  affray,  the  gods  replaced  it  with  the  head 
of  a  ram  Mrkha  SJiivas,  whereas  the  other  versions  describe  it  as  the 
head  of  a  goat,  a  substitution  which  changes  the  allegory  considerably. 

Kasyapa  (Sk.).  A  Vedic  Sage;  in  the  words  of  Atharva  Vrdn. 
"Tile  self-born  who  si)rang  from  Time".  Besides  being  the  father  of 
the  Adityas  iieadcd  hy  Indra,  Ka.syapa  is  also  the  progenitor  of  serpents, 
reptiles,  birds  and  other  walking,  Hying  and  creeping  beings. 

Katha  (Sk.).  One  of  the  Ui)anishads  commented  upon  by  San- 
Uaraciiarya. 

Kaumara  (Sk.).  The  "Kumara  Creation",  the  virgin  youths  who 
sprang  from  the  body  of  Brahma. 

Kauravya  (Sk.).  Tin-  King  of  the  Xagas  (Serpents)  in  Patala. 
exoterically  a  hall.  But  esoterically  it  means  sometliing  very  different. 
There  is  a  triln-  of  the  Ndgas  in  Upper  India;  Xtujtd  is  the  name  in 


16  1  THEOSOPHICAL 

Mexico  of  the  chief  medicine  men  to  this  day,  and  was  that  of  the  chief 
adepts  in  the  twiliprht  of  history  ;  and  finally  I'atal  means  the  Antipodes 
and  is  a  name  of  America.  IIciicc  the  story  that  Arjuna  travelled  to 
Patala.  and  married  I'liipi,  tlic  danp:hter  of  the  Killer  Kauravya.  may  be 
as  historical  as  many  otiiers  refranh-d  first  as  fabled  and  then  fcmnd  ont 
to  be  true. 

Eavanim  (Ilih.).  Also  written  Cunim  ;  the  name  (»f  certain  mystie 
cakt's  ort'ered  to  Ishtar,  the  Babylonian  Venus.  Jeremiah  speaks  of  these 
Cunim  offered  to  the  ''Queen  of  Heaven",  vii.  18.  Nowadays  we  do  not 
offer  the  buns,  but  eat  them  at  Easter,     [w.w.w.] 

Kavyavahana  ((Sk.).    The  fire  of  the  Pitris. 

Kchana  (iSk.).  A  second  incalculably  .short:  the  90th  part  or 
fraction  of  a  thought,  the  4,500th  part  of  a  minute,  during  which  from 
!)0  to  KM)  births  and  as  many  deatlis  occur  on  this  earth. 

Kebar-Zivo  (Gnostic).  One  of  the  chief  creators  in  tlie  Codi.r 
X(i:araus. 

Keherpas  (Sk.).    Aerial  form. 

Keshara  (Sk.).  "Sky  Walker",  i.e.,  a  Yogi  vvlio  can  travel  in  his 
astral  form. 

Kether  (Ifih.).  Tiie  Crown,  the  highest  of  the  ten  Sephiroth ;  the 
first  of  tile  Supernal  Triad.  It  corresponds  to  the  Macroprosopus,  vast 
countenance,  or  Arikh  Anpin,  wliich  differentiates  into  Chokmah  and 
Binah.     [w.w.w.] 

Eetu  (Sk.).  Tile  •descending  node  in  astronomy;  the.  tail  of  th.- 
celestial  dragon  who  attacks  the  Sun  during  the  eclipses;  also  a  comet  or 
meteor. 

Key.  A  symbol  of  universal  importance,  the  emblem  of  silence 
among  the  ancient  nations.  Represented  on  the  threshold  of  the  Adytum, 
a  key  had  a  double  meaning:  it  reminded  the  candidates  of  the  obliga- 
tions of  silence,  and  promised  the  unlocking  of  many  a  hitherto  impene- 
trable my.stery  to  the  profane.  In  the  "CEdipus  Coloneus"  of  Sophocles, 
the  chorus  speaks  of  "the  golden  key  which  had  come  upon  the  tongue 
of  the  mini.stering  Hierophant  in  the  mysteries  of  Eleusis",  (1051). 
"The  priestess  of  Ceres,  according  to  Callimachns.  bore  a  key  as  her 
ensign  of  office,  and  tlie  key  was,  in  the  ^Mysteries  of  Isis.  symbolical  of 
the  opening  or  disclosing  of  the  heart  and  con.seience  before  the  forty- 
two  assessors  of  the  dead"  {R.  M.  Cyclopaedia) . 

Ehado  (Tib.).  Evil  female  demons  in  popular  folk-lore.  In  the 
Esoteric  Pliilosophy  occult  and  evil  Forces  of  nature.  Elementals  known 
in  Sanskrit  as  Dakini. 

Khaldi.  The  earliest  inhabitants  of  Chaldca  who  were  first  the 
worshippers  of  the  Moon  god,  Deus  Lunus,  a  worsiiip  which  was  brought 
to  them  by  the  great  stream  of  early  Hindu  emigration,  and  later  a  caste 
of  regular  Astrologers  and  Initiates. 


GLOSSARY  165 

Kha  <  Sk.).    The  same  as  "Akasa". 

Khamism.  A  name  friven  by  the  E^yptolo^sts  to  the  anoient  lan- 
j,aiage  of  Kjrypt.    Khanii,  also.. 

Khanda  Kala  (Sk.).  Finite  or  conditioned  time  in  contradistinction 
fu  infinite  time,  or  eternity — Kala. 

Khem  (Eg.).  The  same  as  Ilorus.  "The  God  Khem  will  avenge 
his  father  Osiris";  says  a  text  in  a  papyrus. 

Khepra  (Eg.).  An  Ej^ryptian  god  jiresiding  over  rebirth  and  trans- 
mif]^rati()u.     He  is  represented  with  a  scarabseus  instead  of  a  head. 

Khi  (Chin.).     Lit.,  ''breath'";  meaning:  Buddhi. 

Khnoom  (Eg.).    The  great  Deep,  or  Primordial  Space. 

Khoda  (Pcrs.).     The  name  for  the  Deity. 

Khons,  or  Chonso.  (Eg..)  The  Son  of  Maut  and  Amnion,  the  person- 
ification of  morning.  He  is  the  Tlieban  Harpocrates,  according  to  some. 
Like  Horus  he  crushes  under  his  foot  a  crocodile,  emblem  of  night  and 
darkness  or  Seb  (Sebek)  who  is  Typhon.  But  in  the  inscriptions  he  is 
addressed  as  "the  Healer  of  diseases  and  banisher  of  all  evil".  He  is 
also  the  "god  of  the  liunf.  and  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  would  see  in 
him  the  Egyptian  Hercules,  probably  becau.se  the  Romans  had  a  god 
named  Consus  w'ho  presided  over  horse  races  and  was  therefore  called 
"the  concealer  of  secrets".  But  the  latter  is  a  later  variant  on  the 
Egyptian  Khons,  who  is  more  probably  an  aspect  of  Horus,  as  he  wears 
a  hawk's  head,  carries  the  wliip  and  crook  of  Osiris  the  tat  and  the  crux 
ansata. 

Khoom  (Eg.),  or  Knaoph.  Tlic  Soul  of  tlie  World:  a  variant  of 
KJuwom. 

Khubilkhan  (Mong.),  or  Shahrong.  In  Tibet  tlie  names  given  to 
tlie  supposed  incarnations  of  Buddha.    Elect  Saints. 

Khunrath,  Iloirj/.  A  famous  Kabbalist,  chemist  and  physician 
born  in  1502,  initiated  into  Thcosophy  (Rosicrucian)  in  1544.  He  left 
some  excellent  Kabalistic  works,  the  l)est  of  which  is  the  "Amphitheatre 
of  Eternal  Wisdom"  (1598). 

Kimapurushas   (Sk.).     JMonstrous  D.'vas,  half-men,  half -horses. 

King's  of  Edom.  Esoterically.  the  early,  tentative,  malformed 
races  of  men.  Some  Kabbalists  interpret  them  as  "sparks",  worlds  in 
formation  disappearing  as  soon  as  formed. 

Kinnaras  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "W^hat  men?"  Fabulous  ci-eatun-s  of  ihc 
same  description  as  the  Kim-punishas.  One  of  tlie  four  classes  of  beings 
called  "Maharajas". 

Kioo-tche  (Chin.).     An  astronomical  work. 

Kiratarjuniya  of  Bharavi  (Sk.).    A    Sanskrit    epic,    celebrating   the 
strife  and  j)rowess  of  Arjnna  with  the  god  Siva  disguised  as  a  forester. 
Kiver-Shans  (Chin.).    Tlie  astral  or  "Thought  Body". 


IGG  THFXJSOrillCAL 

Kiyun  ilhli.t.  (>r  tin-  ^miI  Kivan  whifli  was  worsliippcd  by  tin* 
Isra«'litt's  in  the  uiMirm'ss  and  was  proltahly  idintiral  with  Saturn  and 
t'vm  with  the  p)d  Siva.  Indn-d,  as  the  Ziudic  II  is  S  in  India  (their 
"liapta"  is  "sapta",  etc.),  and  as  the  letters  K,  II.  and  S,  are  inter- 
chanf^cahlf.  Siva  may  have  easily  become  Kiva  and  Kivan. 

Klesha  iS/{.}.  Love  of  life,  but  literally  "j)ain  and  misery".  Cleav- 
ing: to  existence,  and  almost  th«'  same  as  Kama. 

Klikoosha  f liiiss.).  (Ine  j)ossessed  by  the  Evil  one.  J,H.,  a  "crier 
out",  a  "screamer",  as  such  unfortunates  are  periodically  attacked  with 
tits  (luriiiLT  which   they  crow  like  cocks,   neijjh,   bray   and   prophesy. 

Klippoth  (Ilih.).  Shells:  u.s<m1  in  the  Kabl)alali  in  several  s»*nses; 
(li  evil  spirits,  demons;  (2)  the  shells  of  dead  human  beings,  not  the 
physical  body,  but  the  remnant  of  the  personality  after  the  .spirit  ha'? 
di'parted ;  (3)  the  Elementaries  of  some  authors,     [w.w.w.] 

Kneph  iEtj.).  Also  Cncph  and  Ncf,  endowed  with  tlie  .same  attri- 
butes as  Khem.  One  of  the  gods  of  creative  Force,  for  he  is  connected 
with  the  Mundane  Egg,  He  is  called  by  Porphyry  "the  creator  of  the 
world";  by  Plutarch  the  "unmade  and  eternal  deity";  by  Eusebius  he 
is  identified  with  the  Logos;  and  Janibiielius  goes  so  far  as  almost  to 
identify  him  with  Brahma,  since  he  says  of  him  that  "tliis  god  is  intellect 
itself,  intellectually  i)erceiving  itself,  and  consecrating  intellections  to 
itself;  and  is  to  he  worshipped  in  silence".  One  form  of  him,  adds  Mr. 
Bonwick  "was  Av  meaning  flesh.  He  was  criocei)halus.  with  a  solar  disk 
on  his  head,  and  standing  on  the  serpent  Mehen.  In  his  left  hand  was 
a  viper,  and  a  cross  was  in  his  right.  He  was  actively  engaged  in  the 
underworld  upon  a  mission  of  creation."  Deveria  writes:  "Ilis  journey 
to  the  lower  hemisphere  appears  to  symbolize  the  evolutions  of  substances 
which  are  boi-n  to  die  and  to  be  reborn".  Tiiousands  of  years  before 
Kardec,  Swedenborg,  and  Darwin  appeared,  the  old  Egyptians  enter- 
tained their  several  philosophies.     {Eg.  Belief  and  Mod.  Thought.) 

Koinobi  (Gr.).  A  sect  which  lived  in  Egypt  in  the  early  i)art  of  the 
first  Christian  century;  usually  confounded  with  tiie  Thcrapeuta.  They 
passed  for  magicians. 

Kokab  (Chald.).  The  Kabalistic  lumie  associated  with  \\w  jilanet 
.Al.icury;  also  the  Stellar  light,     [w.w.w.] 

Kol  (Ilcb.).  A  voice,  in  Hebrew  letters  QUL.  The  Voice  of  the 
divine.     (See  "Bath  Kol"  and  "Vach").     [w.w.w.] 

Kols.  One  of  the  tribes  in  central  India,  much  addicted  to  magic. 
Thty  are  considered  to  be  great  sorcerers. 

Konx-Om-Pax  (Or.),  ilystic  words  used  in  the  Eleusinian  mys- 
teries. It  is  believed  that  these  words  are  the  Greek  imitation  of  ancient 
Egyptian  words  once  used  in  the  secret  ceremonies  of  the  Isiac  cult. 
Several  modern  authors  give  fanciful  translations,  but  they  are  all 
only  guesses  at  the  truth,     [w.w.w.] 


GLOSSARY  167 

Koorgan  (liussj.  An  artificial  mound,  jjenerally  an  old  tomb. 
Traditions  of  a  supernatural  or  magical  character  are  often  attached  to 
such  mounds. 

Koran  (Arab.),  or  Quran.  The  sacred  8crii)ture  of  the  .Mussidmans, 
revealed  to  the  Prophet  Mohammed  by  Allah  (god)  himself.  The  reve- 
lation differs,  however,  from  that  given  by  Jehovah  to  Moses.  The 
Christians  abuse  the  Koran  calling  it  a  hallucination,  and  the  work  of 
an  Arabian  impostor.  Whereas,  Mohammed  preaches  in  his  Scripture 
the  unity  of  Deity,  and  renders  honour  to  tlie  (.'hristian  proplx-t  "Issa 
Ben  Yussuf''  (Jesus,  son  of  Joseph).  The  Koran  is  a  grand  poem, 
replete  with  ethical  teachings  proclaiming  loudly  Faith,  Hope  and 
Charity. 

Kosmos  (Or.).  The  Universe,  as  distinguished  from  the  world, 
wliicii  may  mean  our  globe  or  earth. 

Kounboum  (Tih.).  The  sacred  Tree  of  Tibet,  the  tree  of  the 
10,000  images''  as  Hue  gives  it.  It  grows  in  an  enclosure  on  the  Mon- 
astery lands  of  the  Lamasery  of  the  same  name,  and  is  well  cared  for. 
Tradition  has  it  that  it  grew  out  of  tlie  hair  of  Tson-ka-pa,  who  was 
buried  on  that  spot.  This  "Lama"'  was  the  great  Reformer  of  the 
Buddhism  of  Tibet,  and  is  regarded  as  an  incarnation  of  Amita  Buddha. 
In  the  words  of  the  Abbe  Hue,  who  lived  several  months  with  another 
mi.ssionary  named  Gabet  near  this  phenomenal  tree:  "Each  of  its  leaves, 
in  opening,  bears  either  a  letter  or  a  religious  sentence,  written  in  sacred 
characters,  and  tiiese  letters  are,  of  their  kind,  of  such  a  perfection  that 
the  tj-pe-foundries  of  Didot  contain  nothing  to  excel  them.  Open  the 
leaves,  which  vegetation  is  about  to  unroll,  and  you  will  there  discover, 
on  the  point  of  appearing,  the  letters  or  the  distinct  words  which  are 
the  marvel  of  this  unique  tree !  Turn  your  attention  from  the  leaves 
of  the  plant  to  the  bark  of  its  branches,  and  new  characters  will  meet 
your  eyes!  Do  not  allow  your  interest  to  flag;  raise  the  layers  of  this 
bark,  and  still  other  cii.vr.vcteks  will  show  themselves  below  those  whose 
beauty  had  surprised  you.  For,  do  not  fancy  that  these  superposed 
layers  repeat  the  same  printing.  No,  quite  the  contrary ;  for  each  lamina 
you  lift  presents  to  view  its  distinct  type.  How,  then,  can  we  suspect 
jugglery  ?  I  have  done  my  best  in  tliat  direction  to  discover  the  slightest 
trace  of  human  trick,  and  my  baflfled  mind  could  not  retain  the  slightest 
suspicion.''  Yet  promptly  the  kind  French  Abbe  suspects — the  DtvU. 

Kratudwishas  (Sk.).  The  enemies  of  the  Sacrifices;  the  Dait- 
yas,  Danavas,  Kinnaras,  etc.,  etc.,  all  represented  as  great  ascetics  and 
Yogis.  This  shows  who  are  really  meant.  They  were  the  enemies  of 
religious  mummeries  and  ritualism. 

Kravyad  (Sk.).     A  flesh-eater;  a  carnivorous  man  or  animal. 

Krisaswas  Sons  of  (Sk.).  The  weapons  called  Agncydstra.  The 
magical  living  weapons  endowed  with  intelligence,  spoken  of  in  the 
Ramaxjana  and  elsewhere.     An  occult  allegory. 


168  THEaSOPIIICAL 

Krishna  (Sk.).  Tin-  most  cfK'hratod  avatar  of  VishTiu.  th<» 
"Saviour"  of  tlie  Iliiuliis  ami  their  most  p(»puhir  pod.  ITe  is  tho  oi«rhth 
Avatar,  tlie  son  of  Di-vaki,  and  tlic  ncplnw  of  Kansa,  tho  Indian  Kinp 
Herod,  who  wliih'  scfkiii;^  for  him  amonf;  the  shepherds  and  cow-hords 
who  coru'eah'd  him,  sh-w  thousands  of  their  newly-born  babes.  The 
story  of  Krishna's  conception,  birth,  and  childiiood  are  the  exact  proto- 
type of  the  New  Testament  story.  The  missionaries,  of  course,  try  to 
show  that  the  Hindus  stole  the  story  of  the  Nativity  from  tlie  early 
Cliristiaiis  wjio  came  to  India. 

Krita-Yuga  (Sk.).  The  first  of  tlie  four  Yu<ras  or  Apres  of  the 
Brahmans;  also  called  Satya-Yuga,  a  period  lasting  1,728,000  years, 

Krittika  (Sk.).  The  Pleiades.  The  seven  nurses  of  Karttikiya. 
the  <r()tl  of  war. 

Kriyasakti  (Or.).  The  power  of  thoufrlit ;  one  of  the  seven  forces 
of  Xature.    Creative  potency  of  the  Siddhis  (powers)  of  the  full  Yogis. 

Kronos   (dr.).     Saturn.     The   God  of  Boundless  Time   and   of  the 

Cyeh-s. 

Krura-lochana  (Sk.).  The  "evil-eyed";  used  of  Sani,  the  Hindu 
Saturn,  the  planet. 

Kshanti  (Sk.).     Patience,  one  of  the  Param'itas  of  perfection. 

Kshatriya  (Sk.).  Tlie  second  of  the  four  castes  into  whieli  the 
Hindus  were  originally  divided. 

Kshetrajna  or  Ksh<  trajtuswara  (Sk.).  Kmhodied  spirit,  the  Con- 
.seioiis  l^i,r<»  ill  its  hi^diest  manifestations;  the  reincarnating  Principle; 
tile  '"Lord"  in  us. 

Kshetram  (Sk.).  The  "Great  Deep"  of  the  Bible  and  Kahala. 
Chaos.  Yoni ;  Prakriti,  Space. 

Kshira  Samudra  (Sk.).     Ocean  of  milk,  churned  by  the  gods. 
Kuch-ha-guf   illrh.).     The  astral  body  of  a  man.     In   Franz  Lam- 
bert it   is  written   "Coach-ha-guf ".     But  the   Hebrew   word  is  Kuch, 

meaniiiir  ris.  "foree",  motive  origin  of  the  earthy  body,     [w.w.w.] 

Kuklos  Anagkes  (Or.).  Lit,  "The  Unavoidable  Cycle"  or  the 
"Circle  of  Necessity".  Of  the  numerous  catacombs  in  Egypt  and  Chal- 
dea  the  most  renowned  were  the  subterranean  crypts  of  Thebes  and 
Memphi.s.  The  former  began  on  the  Western  side  of  the  Nile  extending 
toward  the  Libyan  desert,  and  were  known  as  the  srrpruts'  (Initiated 
Adepts)  catacombs.  It  was  there  that  the  Sacred  ^lysteries  of  the  Kuklos 
Anagkf's  were  performed,  and  the  candidates  were  acquainted  with  the 
inexorable  laws  traced  for  every  disembodied  soul  from  the  beginning 
of  time.  These  laws  were  that  every  reincarnating  Entity,  casting  away 
its  body  should  pass  from  this  life  on  earth  unto  another  life  on 'a  more 
subjective  plane,  a  .state  of  bliss,  unless  the  sins  of  the  personality  brought 
on  a  complete  .separation  of  the  higher  from  the  lower  "iirineiples" :  that 
the  "circle  of  necessity"  or  the  unavaulahle  cycle  should  last  a  given 


GLOSSARY  169 

period  (from  one  thousand  to  even  three  thousand  years  in  a  few 
cases),  and  that  when  closed  the  Entity  should  return  to  its  mummy,  i.e., 
to  a  new  inearnation.  The  Egyi)tian  and  Chaldean  teachings  were  thos*' 
of  the  "Secret  Doctrine"  of  the  Tlicnsoiihists.  The  Mexicans  had  the 
same.  Their  demigod,  Votan,  is  made  to  describe  in  I'opol  Vuh  (see  de 
Bourbourg's  work)  the  ahugcro  de  colubra  which  is  identical  with  the 
"Serpent's  Catacombs",  or  passage,  adding  that  it  ran  underground 
and  "terminated  at  the  root  of  heaven",  into  which  serpent's  hole,  Votan 
was  admitted  because  he  was  himself  "a  son  of  the  Serpents",  or  a 
Dragon  of  ^Vis(lom,  i.e.,  an  Initiate.  The  world  over,  the  priest-adepts 
called  tlicmsL'lves  "Sons  of  the  Dragon"  and  "Sons  of  the  Serpent-dog". 

Kukkuta  Padagiri  (Sic),  called  also  Gurupadogiri,  the  "teach- 
er's mountain".  It  is  situated  about  seven  miles  from  Gaya,  and  is 
famous  owing  to  a  persistent  report  that  Arhat  Mahakasyapa  even  to 
this  day  dwells  in  its  caves. 

Kumara  (Sk.).  A  virgin  boy,  or  young  celibate.  The  first  Kumaras 
are  the  seven  sons  of  Brahma,  born  out  of  the  limbs  of  the  god.  in  the 
so-called  ninth  creation.  It  is  stated  that  the  name  was  given  to  them 
owing  to  tlieir  formal  refusal  to  "procreate  their  sjieeies",  and  so  they 
"remained  Yogis",  as  the  legend  says. 

Kumarabudhi  (SI,-.).     An  e})ithet  given  to  the  luiman  "Ego". 

Kumara  guha  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  mysterious  virgin  youth".  .\ 
title  given  to  Karttikeya  owing  to  his  strange  origin. 

Kumbhaka  (Sk.).  Retention  of  breath,  according  to  the  regulations 
of   the    Hatha   Yoga   system. 

Kumbhakarna  (Sk.).  The  brother  of  King  Ravana  of  Lanka, 
the  ravisher  of  Rama's  wife,  Sita.  As  shown  in  the  Ramayana,  Kum- 
bhakarna under  a  curse  of  Brahma  slept  for  six  months,  and  then  re- 
mained awake  one  day  to  fall  asleep  again,  and  so  on,  for  many  hun- 
dreds of  years.  He  was  awakened  to  take  part  in  the  war  between  Kama 
and  Ravana,  captured  Ilaiuiman,  but  was  tiiuilly  killed  himself. 

Kundalini  Sakti  (Sk.).  The  power  of  life ;  one  of  the  Forces 
of  Nature;  that  pow(n*  that  generates  a  certain  light  in  tho.se  who  sit  for 
spiritual  and  clairvoyant  develojiment.  It  is  a  power  known  only  to 
those  who  practise  concentration  and  Yoga. 

Kunti  (Sk.).  The  wife  of  Pamlu  and  the  mother  of  the  I'andavas, 
the  heroes  and  the  foes  of  their  cousins  the  Kauravas,  in  the  Bhagavad- 
gita.  It  is  an  allegory  of  the  Spirit-Soul  or  Buddhi.  Some  think  that 
Draupadi,  the  wife  in  common  of  tiie  five  brothers,  the  Pandavas,  is 
meant  to  represent  Buddhi :  but  this  is  not  so,  for  Draupadi  stands  for 
the  terrestrial  life  of  the  Personality.  As  such,  we  see  it  made  little  of, 
allowed  to  be  insulted  and  even  taken  into  slavery  by  Yudhisthira,  the 
rider  of  the  Pandavas  and  her  chief  htrd.  who  represents  the  Higher  Ego 
with  all  its  qualifications. 


170  THROSOPHKAL 

Kurios  I  dr.  I.     Tlif  Lord,  tlir  Master. 

Kurus  iSk.),  or  K(n(riir(ts.  Tin-  foes  (tf  the  Paiidavas  in  tlu-  Bha- 
(jiivinl  (iita,  on  the  plain  of  Kurukshotra.  This  plain  is  l)\it  a  few  miles 
from  Delhi. 

Kusa  (Sk.).  A  saered  "jrass  used  by  tlie  a.seeties  of  lii<iia,  call.'d  the 
jjrass  of  lucky  au^ry.     It  is  very  oeeult. 

Kusadwipa  (Sk.).  Out'  of  the  seven  islands  naimd  Saptailivipa 
in  th.   J'uidtias.  (See  Secret  Doctrine  11..  p.  404,  Note). 

Kusala   (Sk.).     Merit,  one  of  the   two  chief  constituents  of   Kanna. 

Kiisitiara  (Sk.).  The  city  n<ar  which  Bnddha  difd.  It  is  near 
Dtllii.  tluiu^h  some  Orientalists  would  locate  it  in  A.ssam. 

Kuvera  (Sk.).  God  of  the  Hades,  and  of  w.alth  lik.-  Pluto.  The 
kiiifr  (if  the  ivil  demons  in  the  Hindu  Pantheon. 

Kwan-shai-yin  (Chin.).  The  nuile  logos  oi  tli.-  North. rn  Bud- 
dhists and  those  of  China;  the  "manifested  god". 

Kwan-yin   (Chin.).     The  female  logos,  the  "Motlur  of  Mercy". 

Kwan-yin-tien  (Chin.).  The  heaven  where  Kwan-yin  and  the  other 
logoi    dwell. 


GLOSSARY  171 


L. 


!-•• — The  twelfth  letter  of  the  Enplish  Alphabet,  and  also  of  the  Hebrew, 
where  Lamed  signifies  an  Ox-goad,  the  sign  of  a  form  of  the  god  Mars, 
the  generative  deity.  The  letter  is  an  eqnivalent  of  number  30.  The 
Hebrew  divine  name  corresponding  to  L,  is  Limmud,  or  Doe t  us. 

Labanim  (Lat..).  The  standard  borne  before  the  old  Roman  Em- 
peroi-s.  having  an  eagle  upon  it  as  an  emblem  of  sovereignty.  It  was 
a  long  lanee  with  a  cross  staff  at  right  angles.  Constantine  replaced  the 
eagle  by  tlie  eliristian  monogram  with  the  motto  f »'  rorrcj  iixa  wliicli  was 
later  interpreted  into  In  hoc  signo  vinces.  As  to  the  monogram,  it  was  a 
combination  of  the  letter  X,  Chi,  and  P,  liho,  the  initial  syllable  of 
Christos.  But  the  Laharum  had  been  an  emblem  of  Etruria  ages  before 
r'onstantine  and  the  Christian  era.  It  was  tlie  sign  also  of  Osiris  and  of 
Horus  who  is  often  represented  witli  tlie  long  Latin  cross,  while  the 
Greek  pectoral  cross  is  purely  Egyptian.  In  his  "Decline  and  Fall" 
Gibbon  has  exposed  the  Constantine  imposture.  The  emperor,  if  he  ever 
had  a  vision  at  all,  must  have  seen  the  Olympian  Jupiter,  in  whose  faith 
he  died. 

Labro.  A  Roman  saint,  solemnly  beatified  a  few  years  ago.  His 
great  holiness  consisted  in  sitting  at  one  of  the  gates  of  Rome  night  and 
day  for  forty  years,  and  remaining  unwa.shed  through  the  whole  of  that 
time.    He  was  eaten  by  vermin  to  his  bones. 

Labyrinth  (dr.).  Egypt  had  the  "celestial  labyrinth"  whereinto 
the  souls  of  the  departed  plunged,  and  also  its  type  on  earth,  the  famous 
Labyrintii,  a  subterranean  series  of  halls  and  pa.s.sages  with  the  most 
extraordinary  windings.  Herodotus  describes  it  as  consisting  of  3,000 
chambers,  half  below  and  half  above  ground.  Even  in  his  day  strangers 
were  not  allowed  into  the  subterranean  portions  of  it  as  they  contained 
the  sepulchres  of  the  kings  who  built  it  and  other  mysteries.  The 
"Father  of  History"  found  the  Labyrinth  already  almost  in  ruins,  yet 
regarded  it  even  in  its  state  of  dilai)idation  as  far  more  marvellous  than 
the  pyramids. 

Lactantius.  A  Church  Fatlier.  who  declared  the  heliocentric 
system  a  heretical  doctrine,  and  that  of  the  antipodes  as  a  "fallacy  in- 
vented by  the  devil". 

Ladakh.  The  upper  valley  of  tlie  Indus,  inhabited  l)y  Tibetans, 
but  belonging  to  the  Rajah  of  Caslimere. 

Ladder.  There  are  many  "ladders"  in  the  my.stic  philosophies  and 
schemes,  all  of  which  were,  and  some  still  are,  used  in  the  respective 


172 


THEOS()PJll<  AI, 


mysteries  t>f  various  nations.  Thi-  lirdhniiinudl  IakUU  r  s\  niholisos  tlu' 
Sfvtn  Worlds  or  Sapta  Loka;  tlu*  Kahalistual  LiuUhr,  tho  sovon  lower 
Sephiroth  ;  Jacob's  Laihh  r  is  spokt-n  of  in  the  Bible  ;  the  Mithraic  LacUUr 
is  also  the  "Mysterious  Ladder".  Then  there  are  the  Rosierueian.  the 
Seandinavian,  the  Borsipj)n  Ladders,  etc.,  etc.,  and  finally  the  Throlof/ical 
Laddi  r  whieh,  according  to  Brother  Kenneth  ^laeken/.ie.  consists  of  the 
four  cardinal  and  three  theological  virtues. 

Lady  of  the  Sycamore.  A  title  of  the  Egyptian  goddess  Neith,  who 
is  often  ifpresfiited  as  a|)pparing  in  a  tree  and  handing  therefrom  the 
fruit  of  the  Tree  of  Life,  as  also  the  AVater  of  Life,  to  her  worshippers. 

Laena  (Lat.).  A  robe  worn  by  the  Konian  Augurs  with  which  tliey 
covered  their  heads  while  sitting  in  contemplation  on  the  flight  of  birds. 

Lahgash  (Kah.).  Secret  sp<'(»ch ;  e.soterie  ini-antation  :  almost  idm- 
tical  witii  the  mystical  meaning  of  Vach. 

Lajja   (Sk.).     "Modesty";  a  demi-goddess,  daughter  of  Daksha. 

Lakh  (Sk.).     100.000  of  units,  either  in  specie  or  anything  else. 

Lakshana  (ISk.).  The  thirty-two  bodily  signs  of  a  Buddha,  marks 
by  whieh  he  is  recogniseiL 

Lakshmi  (Sk.).  "Prosperity",  fortune;  the  Jjulian  Venus,  born  of 
the  churning  of  the  ocean  by  the  gods;  goddess  of  beauty  and  wife  of 
Vishnu. 

Lalita  Vistara  (Sk.).  A  celebrated  biography  of  Sakya  Muni,  the 
Lord  Buddha  by  Dharmarakcha,  a.d.  308. 

Lama  (Tib.).  Written  "Clama".  The  title,  if  correctly  applied, 
belongs  only  to  the  priests  of  superior  grades,  those  who  can  hold  office 
as  gurus  in  the  monasteries.  Unfortunately  every  common  member  of 
the  gcclun  (clergy)  calls  himself  or  allows  liimself  to  be  called  "Lama". 
A  real  Lama  is  an  ordained  and  thrice  ordained  Geloug.  Since  the  re- 
form produced  by  Tsong-ka-pa,  man}'  abuses  have  again  crept  into  the 
theocracy  of  the  land.  There  are  "Lama-astrologers",  the  Chakhan,  or 
common  Tsikhan  (from  tsigan,  "gj'psy"),  and  Lama-sooth-sayers,  even 
such  as  are  allowed  to  marry  and  do  not  belong  to  the  clergy  at  all. 
They  are  very  scarce,  however,  in  Eastern  Tibet,  belonging  principally 
to  Western  Tibet  and  to  sects  which  have  nought  to  do  with  the  (idukpa.'i 
(yellow  caps).  Unfortunately,  Orientalists  knowing  next  to  nothing  of 
the  true  state  of  affairs  in  Tibet,  confuse  the  Choichong,  of  the  Gur- 
makhayas  Lamasery  (Lhassa) — the  Initiated  Esotericists,  with  the  Char- 
latans and  Dugpa.t  (sorcerers)  of  the  Bhon  sects.  No  wonder  if — as 
Schagintweit  says  in  his  Buddhism  in  Tibet — "though  the  images  of 
King  Choichong  (the  'god  of  astrologj'')  are  met  with  in  most  monas- 
teries of  Western  Tibet  and  the  Himalayas,  my  brothers  never  saw  a 
Lama  Choichong".  This  is  but  natural.  Neither  the  Choichong,  nor 
the  Kubilkhan  {q.v.)  overrun  the  country.  As  to  the  "God"  or  "King 
Choichong",  he  is  no  more  a  "god  of  astrology"  than  any  other  "Plan- 
etarv"  Dhvan  Chohan. 


GLOSSARY  173 

Lamrin  (Tib.).  A  sacrcil  volunu'  of  iiret-cpts  and  rules,  written  by 
Tson-kha-i)a.  "for  the  advancement  of  knowlcdf^e". 

Land  of  the  Eternal  Sun.  Tradition  places  it  beyoud  the  Arctic 
regions  at  the  North  Pole.  It  is  "the  laud  of  the  gods  where  the  sun 
never   sets." 

Lang-Shu  (Chin.).  The  title  of  the  translation  of  Nagarjuna's  work, 
fhe  E kasl oka-Shastra . 

Lanka  (Sk.).  The  aneieiit  name  of  the  island  now  called  Ceylon.  It 
is  also  the  name  of  a  mountain  in  the  South  East  of  Ceylon,  where,  as 
tradition  says,  was  a  town  peopled  with  demons  named  Lankapuri.  It 
is  described  in  the  epic  of  the  Ramayana  as  of  gigantic  extent  and 
magnificance,  "with  seven  broad  moats  and  .seven  stupendous  walls  of 
stone  and  metal".  Its  foundation  is  attributed  to  Visva-Karma,  who 
built  it  for  Kuvera,  the  king  of  the  demons,  from  whom  it  was  taken  by 
Ravana,  the  ravisher  of  Sita.  The  Bhdgavat  Purdna  shows  Lanka  or 
Ceylon  as  primarily  the  summit  of  ]\Iount  Meru,  which  was  broken  off 
by  Vayu,  god  of  the  wind,  and  hurled  into  the  ocean.  It  has  since 
become  the  seat  of  tiie  Southern  Buddhist  Church,  tiie  Siamese  Sect 
I  headed  at  present  by  the  High  Priest  Sumangala),  the  representation  of 
the  purest  exoteric  Buddhism  on  this  .side  of  the  Himalyas. 

Lanoo  (Sk.).     A  disciple,  the  same  as  "ehela". 

Lao-tze  (Chin.).  A  great  sage,  saint  and  ])hilosopher  wlio  preceded 
Confucius. 

Lapis  philosophorum  (Laf.).  The  "Philosopher's  Stone";  a  mystic 
term  in  aleheni\".  haviiii:'  (juite  a  different  meaning  from  that  usually 
attributed  to  it. 

Lararium  iljit.).  An  ajiartnient  in  the  hou.se  (»f  ancient  Romans 
when-  tile  Lares  or  household  gods  were  preserved,  with  other  family 
relics. 

Lares  (Lai.).  These  were  of  three  kinds:  Laris  famHiarcs.  the 
guardians  and  invisible  presidents  of  the  family  circle;  Lares  j)arvi, 
small  idols  used  for  divinations  and  augury:  and  Lares  prastites,  which 
were  supposed  to  maintain  order  among  the  others.  The  Lares  are  the 
manes  or  ghosts  of  disembodied  people.  Apuleius  says  that  the  turaulary 
inscription.  To  the  gods  manes  who  lived,  meant  that  the  Soul  had  been 
transformed  in  a  Lcmurc;  and  adds  that  though  "the  human  Soul  is  a 
demon  that  our  languages  may  name  genius",  and  "is  an  immortal  god 
thougli  in  a  certain  .sr».se  she  is  horn  at  the  same  time  as  the  man  in  whom 
she  is,  yet  we  may  say  that  she  dies  in  the  same  way  that  she  is  born''. 
Which  means  in  plainer  language  that  Lares  and  Lemures  are  simply  the 
shells  cast  off  by  the  Ego,  the  high  spiritual  and  immortal  Soul,  whose 
shell,  and  also  its  astral  reflection,  the  animol  Soul,  die,  whereas  the 
higher  Soul  prevails  throughout  eternity. 

Larva  (Lot.).  The  animal  Soul.  Larva  are  the  shadows  of  men 
that  have  lived  and  died. 


17  1  THIXXSOPHIC.U. 

Law  of  Retribution.   i,Sn-  •'Karma"). 

Laya   or   Latfum    (Sk.V     From    the   root    Li   "to   (lis.solvr,   to  disiii 
tijrrati'"  a  point  of  o(iiiilil>i"iMm   {zrro-poini)   in  jihysics  and  chemistry. 
In  oi'i'ultism,  that  point   where  .sul)stanee  becomes  liomoj^eiu'oiis  and  is 
unable  to  act  or  differentiate. 

Lebanon  (Ihlt.).  A  ran^re  of  mountains  in  Syria,  with  a  few  rem- 
nants of  the  t:ij;antic  cedar  trees,  a  forest  of  which  once  crowned  its 
summit.  Tradition  says  that  it  is  here,  that  the  tijnl)er  for  King  Solo- 
mon's temple  was  obtained.     (See  "Druzes"). 

Lemuria.  A  MKulern  term  first  u.sed  by  .some  naturalists,  and  now 
adopted  by  Theosophists,  to  indicate  a  continent  that,  accordinrj  to  the 
Secret  Doctrine  of  the  East,  preceded  Atlantis.  Its  Eastern  name  would 
not  reveal  much  to  European  ears. 

Leon,  Mosis  dr.  The  name  of  a  Jewish  Rabbi  in  tlie  Xlllth  century, 
accused  of  having  compo.scd  the  Zuhar  which  he  gave  out  as  the  true 
work  of  Simeon  Ben  Jachai.  His  full  name  is  given  in  Myer's  Qahhalah 
as  Rabbi  Moses  bcn-Shera-Tob  de  Leon,  of  Spain,  the  same  author  prov- 
ing very  cleverly  that  de  Leon  was  }wt  the  author  of  the  Zohar.  Few- 
will  .say  he  was.  but  every  one  nnist  suspect  ]\Ioses  de  Leon  of  perverting 
considerably  tiie  original  Book  of  Sph  ndour  (Zohar).  Tliis  sin.  however, 
may  be  .shared  by  him  with  the  ]\Iedia3val  "Christian  Kabalists"  and  by 
Knorr  von  Rosenroth  especially.  Surely,  neither  Rabbi  Simeon,  con- 
demned to  death  by  Titus,  nor  his  son,  Rabbi  Eliezer,  nor  his  secretary 
Rabbi  Abba,  can  be  charged  with  introducing  into  the  Zohar  purely 
Christian  dogmas  and  doctrines  invented  by  the  Church  Fathers  several 
centuries  after  the  death  of  the  former  Rabbis.  This  would  be  stretching 
alleged  divine  projihecy  a  little  too  far. 

Levi  Eliphas.  Tlie  real  name  of  this  learned  Kali.dist  was  Abbe 
Alphon.se  Louis  Constant.  Eliphas  Levi  Zahed  was  the  author  of  several 
works  on  i)hilosophical  magic.  ^Member  of  the  Fratrcs  Lucis  (Brothers 
of  Light),  lie  was  also  once  upon  a  time  a  priest,  an  ahhc  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  wiiich  promptly  proceeded  to  unfrock  him,  when  he 
acquired  fame  as  a  Kabalist.  He  died  some  twenty  years  ago,  leaving 
five  famous  works — iJogmc  ct  llilxul  dc  la  Haute  Magic  (1856)  Histoirc 
de  la  Magic  (1860)  ;  La  Clef  dcs  grands  Mystercs  (1861)  ;  Ltgcndcs  ct 
Sifniholcs  (1862)  ;  and  La  Science  des  Esprils  (1865;)  besides  some  other 
works  of  minor  importance.  His  style  is  extremely  liglit  and  fascinat- 
ing; but  with  rather  too  strong  characteristic  of  mockery  and  paradox 
in  it  to  bo  tlie  ideal  of  a  serious  Kabalist. 

Leviathan.  In  biblical  esoterieism.  Deity  in  its  double  manifesta- 
tion of  good  and  evil.  The  meaning  may  be  found  in  the  Zohar  (II,  346.) 
"Rabbi  Shimeon  said:  The  w'ork  of  the  beginning  (of  'creation')  the 
companions  (candidates)  study  and  understand  it;  but  the  little  ones 
(the  full  or  perfect  Initiates)  are  those  who  understand  the  illusion  to  the 


GLOSSARY  175 

work  of  the  beginning  hy  the  Mystery  of  the  Serpent  of  the  Great  Sea 
(to  wit)   Thannccn,  Lrviathan."  (See  also  Qahhahih,  by  I.  Myer.) 

Levanah  (Ilcb.).  The  moon,  as  a  planet  and  an  astrological  in- 
fluence. 

Lha  (Tib.).  Spirits  of  the  higliest  splieres,  whence  tlie  name  of 
Lhassa,  the  residence  of  tlie  Dalai-Lama.  The  title  of  Lha  is  often  given 
in  Tibet  to  some  Narjols  (Saints  and  Yogi  adepts)  who  have  attained 
jrreat  occult  powers. 

Lhagpa  (Tib.).    Mercury,  the  planet. 

Lhakang  (Tib.).  A  temple;  a  crypt,  especially  a  subterranean  temple 
for   mystic   ceremonies. 

Lhamayin  (Tib.).  Elemental  sprites  of  the  lower  tt^rrestrial  plane. 
Popular  fancy  makes  of  them  demons  and  devils. 

Lif  (Scand.).  Lif  and  Lifthresir,  the  only  two  human  beings  who 
were  allowed  to  l)e  present  at  the  "Renewal  of  the  World".  Being  "pure 
and  innocent  and  free  from  sinful  desires,  tliey  are  permitted  to  enter 
the  world  where  peace  now  reigns".  The  Edda  shows  them  hidden  in 
Hoddmimir's  forest  dreaming  the  dreams  of  childhood  while  the  last 
conflict  was  taking  place.  These  two  creatures,  and  the  allegor>-  in 
which  they  take  part,  are  allusions  to  the  few  nations  of  the  Fourth 
Root  Race,  who,  surviving  the  great  submersion  of  their  continent  and 
the  majority  of  their  Race,  passed  into  the  Fifth  and  continued  their 
ethnical  evolution  in  our  present  Human  Race. 

Light,  Brothers  of.  This  is  what  the  great  authority  on  secret  so- 
cieties, Brother  Kennetli  R.  H.  Mackenzie  IX.,  says  of  this  Brotherhood. 
"A  mystic  order,  Fratrcs  Lucis,  established  in  Florence  in  1498.  Among 
the  members  of  this  order  were  Pasqualis,  Cagliostro,  Swedenborg.  St. 
Martin,  Eliphaz  Levi,  and  many  other  eminent  mystics.  Its  members 
were  very  much  persecuted  by  the  Inquisition.  It  is  a  small  but  com- 
pact body,  the  members  being  spread  all  over  the  world." 

Lila  (Sk.).  Sport,  literally;  or  pa.stime.  In  the  orthodox  Hindu 
Scriptures  it  is  explained  that  "the  acts  of  the  divinity  are  lila",  or 
sport. 

Lilith  (Ilcb.).  By  Jewisli  tradition  a  demon  who  was  the  first  wife 
of  Adam,  before  Eve  was  created :  she  is  supposed  to  have  a  fatal  in- 
fluence on  mothers  and  newly-born  infants.  Lil  is  night,  and  Lilith  is 
also  the  owl :  and  in  mcdia?val  works  is  a  synonym  of  Lamia  or  female 
demon.     f\\.w.w.] 

Lil-in  (Il(h.).  The  children  of  Lilith.  and  tluMri  descendants. 
"Lilith  is  the  Motlier  of  the  Shcdim  and  the  Muquishim  (the  cnsnar- 
ers)  ".  Every  class  of  the  Lil-ins,  therefore,  are  devils  in  the  demonolog\' 
of  the  Jews.  '  (See  Zohar  ii.  26Sa). 

Limbus  Major   (Lai.).     A   term  used   by   Paracelsus  to  denote   pri- 

munliiil    '  nli'lietiiieal)    matter;   "Adam's  earth". 


176 


tiii:()8u1'111«.:al 


Linga  or  Limjum  (^k.).  A  sipru  or  a  symhol  of  al).stract  crfatioii. 
Forcf  bi'conR's  the  organ  of  j)roerfation  only  on  this  earth.  In  India 
there  are  12  jrreat  Lingams  of  Siva,  some  of  whieh  an-  on  nionntains  and 
rocks,  and  also  in  temples.  Such  is  the  Kcih'insa  in  the  Himalaya,  a 
hufTo  and  shapeless  mass  of  roek.  In  its  origin  the  Lingam  had  never 
the  gross  meaning  eonnecteil  with  the  phallus,  an  idea  which  is  altogether 
of  a  later  date.  The  symhol  in  India  has  the  same  meaning  which  it 
had  in  Egypt,  which  is  simply  tiiat  the  creativt-  or  procrentive  Force  is 
divine.  It  also  denotes  who  was  the  dual  Creator — male  and  fenude. 
Siva  and  his  Saliti.  Tiie  gross  and  immodest  idea  connected  with  the 
phallus  is  not  Indian  but  Greek  and  pre-eminently  Jewish.  The  Biblical 
Brthrls  were  real  priapic  stones,  the  "Beth-el"  (phallus)  wherein  God 
dwells.  The  same  symbol  was  concealed  wuthin  the  ark  of  the  Covenant, 
the  "Holy  of  Holies".  Therefore  the  "Lingam"  even  as  a  phallus  is 
not  "a  .symbol  of  Siva"  only,  but  that  of  every  "Creator"  or  creative 
god  in  every  nation,  including  the  Israelities  and  their  "God  of  Abraham 
and  Jacob". 

Linga  Purana  (Sk.).  A  scripture  of  tlie  Saivas  or  worshipiiers  of 
Siva.  Tiiei.  ill  Mahcswara,  "the  gi'cat  Lord",  concealed  in  the  Agni 
Linga  explains  the  ethics  of  life^duty,  virtue,  .self-sacrifice  and  finally 
liberation  by  and  through  ascetic  life  at  the  end  of  the  Agni  Kalpa  (the 
Seventh  Round).  As  Professor  Wilson  justly  observed  "the  Spirit  of 
the  worship  (phallic)  is  as  little  influenced  by  the  character  of  the  type 
as  can  well  be  imagined.  There  is  nothing  like  the  phallic  orgies  of  an- 
tiquitij ;  it  is  all  mystical  and  spiritual. 

Linga  Sharira  (Sk.).  The  "body",  i.e.,  the  aerial  symbol  of  the 
body.  This  term  designates  the  doppelgangcr  or  the  "astral  body"  of 
man  or  animal.  It  is  the  eidolon  of  the  Greeks,  the  vital  and  prototypal 
body;  the  reflection  of  the  men  of  flesh.  It  is  born  he  fore  and  dies  or 
fades  out,  with  the  disappearance  of  the  last  atom  of  the  body. 

Lipi  (Sk.).  To  write.  See  "Lipikas"  in  Vol.  I.  of  the  iStcret  Due 
trine. 

Lipikas  (Sk.).  The  ceh'stial  recorders,  the  "Scribes",  those  who 
record  every  word  and  deed,  said  or  done  by  man  while  on  this  earth. 
As  Occultism  teaches,  they  are  the  agents  of  Karm.v — the  retributive 
Law. 

Lobha  f.s'/i.j.  Covetousness :  cupidity,  a  son  sprung  from  Brahma, 
in  an  evil  hour. 

Lodur  (Scand.).  The  second  per.sonage  in  the  trinity  of  gods  in  the 
Edda  of  the  Norsemen;  and  the  father  of  the  twelve  great  gods.  It  is 
Lodur  who  endows  the  first  man-made  of  the  ash-tree  (Ask),  with  blood 
and  color. 

Logi  (Scand.).  Lit.,  "flame".  This  giant  with  his  sons  and  kindred, 
made  themselves  finally  known  as  the  authors  of  every  cataclysm  and 
conflagration  in  heaven  or  on  earth,  by  letting  mortals  perceive  them 


GLOSSARY  177 

in  the  midst  of  tlaraes.  Tliese  giant-fiends  were  all  enemies  of  man  try- 
ing to  destroy  his  work  wherever  they  found  it.  A  symbol  of  the  cosmic 
elements. 

Logia  (Or.).  The  secret  discourses  and  teachings  of  Jesus  contained 
in  the  Evangel  of  ^Matthew — in  the  original  Hebrew,  not  the  spurious 
Greek  text  we  have — and  preserved  by  the  Ebionites  and  the  Nazarenes 
in  the  library  collected  by  Pamphilus,  at  Caesarea.  This  "Evangel" 
called  by  many  writers  "the  genuine  Gospel  of  Matthew",  was  used 
according  to  (St.)  Jerome,  by  tlie  Nazarenes  and  P^bionites  of  Beroea, 
Syria,  in  his  own  day  (4th  century).  Like  the  Aporrhcta  or  secret  dis- 
courses, of  the  Mysteries,  these  Logia  could  only  be  understood  with  a 
key.  Sent  by  the  Bishops  Chromatins  and  Heliodorus.  Jerome,  after 
having  obtained  permission,  translated  them,  but  found  it  "a  difficult 
task"  (truly  so!)  to  reconcile  the  text  of  the  "genuine"  with  that  of  the 
spurious  Greek  gospel  he  was  acquainted  with.  (See  Isis  Unveiled  II.. 
180  ct  scq.). 

Logos  (Gr.).  The  manifested  deity  wnth  every  nation  and  people; 
the  outward  expression,  or  the  effect  of  the  cause  which  is  ever  concealed. 
Thus,  speech  is  the  Logos  of  thought;  hence  it  is  aptly  translated  by 
the  "Verbum"  and  "Word"  in  its  metaphysical  sense. 

Lohitanga  (SJx-.).    The  planet,  Mars. 

Loka  (Sk.).  A  region  or  circumscribed  place.  In  metaphysics,  a 
world  or  sphere  or  plane.  The  Puranas  in  India  speak  incessantly  of 
seven  and  fourteen  Lokas,  above,  and  below  our  earth ;  of  heavens  and 
hells. 

Loka  Chakshub  (Sk.).  The  "Eye  of  th.-  World";  a  title  of  the 
Sun,  Suri/a. 

Loka  Palas  (Sk.).  The  supporters,  rulers  and  guardians  of  the 
world.  The  deities  (planetary  gods)  which  preside  over  the  eight  car- 
dinal points,  among  which  are  the  Tchatur  (Four)  ^laharajahs. 

Loki  (Scanel.).  The  Scandinavian  Evil  Spirits  exoterically.  In 
esoteric  philosophy  "an  opposing  power"  only  because  differentiating 
from  primordial  harmony.  In  tlie  Edda,  he  is  the  father  of  the  terrible 
Fenris  Wolf,  and  of  the  Midgard  Snake.  By  blood  he  is  the  brother  of 
Odin,  the  good  and  valiant  god ;  but  in  nature  he  is  his  opposite.  Loki- 
Odin  is  simply  two  in  one.  As  Odin  is,  in  one  sense,  vital  heat,  so  is 
Loki  the  symbol  of  the  passions  produced  by  the  intensity  of  the  former. 

Loreley.  The  German  copy  of  the  Scandinavian  "Lake  Maiden". 
Undine  is  one  of  the  names  given  to  these  maidens,  who  are  known  in 
exoteric  ]\Iagic  and  Occultism  as  the  Water-Elementals. 

Lost  Word  (Masonic).  It  onglit  to  stand  as  "lost  words" "  and  lost 
secrets,  in  general,  for  that  which  is  termed  the  lost  "Word"  is  no  word 
at  all,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Ineffable  Name  iq.v.)  The  Royal  Arch 
Degree  in  Ma.sonry,  has  been  "in  search  of  it"  since  it  was  founded.  Bnt 
the  "dead" — especially  those  murdered — do  not  speak;  and  were  even 


178  THKOSOPIIKAI. 

■'tlif  Widow  s  Son"  t(»  come  hack  to  life  "inattrializfd",  hv  rould 
hardly  n-Ncal  that  which  never  existed  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  now 
taupfht.  The  Siikmii.vmphorasii  (the  separated  name,  through  the 
power  of  which  accordinjr  to  Ids  detractors.  .leshu  Ben  Pandira  is  said 
to  have  wrou<;ht  his  miracles,  after  stealin}?  it  from  the  Temple)  — 
whether  derived  from  the  "s<'lf  existent  suhstanee"  of  Tetra«rrammaton, 
or  not.  can  never  l)e  a  sul)stitute.  for  the  lost  IjOUOS  of  divine  ma<;ic. 

Lotus  (dr.).  A  most  occult  plant,  sacred  in  E«rypt.  India  and  els«'- 
where ;  called  "the  child  of  the  I'liivcrse  bearinj;  the  likeness  of  its 
mother  in  its  bosom".  There  was  a  time  "when  the  world  was  a  golden 
lotus"  (pa<hna)  says  the  allegory.  A  great  variety  of  these  plants,  from 
the  majestic  Indian  lotus,  down  to  the  nuirsh-lotus  (bird's  foot  trefoil) 
and  the  Grecian  "  Dioscoridis".  is  eaten  at  Ci-ctc  and  other  islands.  It  iS 
a  species  of  nympha^a.  first  introduced  from  hulia  to  Egypt  to  which  it 
was  not  indigenous.  .See  the  text  of  Archaic  Symbolism  in  the  Appendix 
VIII.  ''The  Lotus,  as  a  Universal  Symbol". 

Lotus,  Lord  of  iht .  A  title  ai>i)lied  to  the  various  creative  gods,  as 
also  to  the  Lords  of  the  rniverse  of  wliicli  this  i>laiit  is  tlie  symbol.  (See 
"Lotus"). 

Love  Feasts,  Af/upin  (Gr.).  Tliese  banquets  of  charity  held  by 
the  earliest  Christians  were  founded  at  Rome  by  Clemens,  in  the  reign  of 
Domitian.  Professor  A  Kestner's  The  Agaim  or  the  Secret  World  So- 
riitif  (W'ilibund)  of  the  Primitin  Christians  (pu])lished  1S19  at  Jena) 
speaks  of  these  Love  Feasts  as  "having  hierarchical  constitution,  and 
a  groumlwork  of  Masonic  symbolism  and  Mysteries";  and  shows  a  direct 
connection  between  the  old  Agapie  and  the  Table  Lodges  or  Banquets 
of  the  Freemasons.  Having,  however,  exiled  from  their  suppers  the 
"holy  kiss"  and  women,  the  banquets  of  the  latter  are  rather  "drinking" 
than  "love"  feasts.  The  eai-ly  Agapa'  were  certainly  the  same  as  the 
Phallica,  which  ''were  once  as  pure  as  the  Love  Feasts  of  early  Chris- 
tians" as  j\Ir.  Bonwick  very  justly  remarks,  "though  like  them  rapidly 
degenerating  into  licentiousness".  {Eg.  Bel.  and  Mod.  Thought,  p. 
260  V 

Lower  Face  m-  Jjower  Countenance  (Kah.).  A  tei-ni  ai)plied  to 
.Microprosopus,  as  that  of  "Higher  Face"  is  to  Macroprosopus.  The 
two  are  identical  with  Long  Face  and  Short  Face. 

Lubara  fChald.).    The  god  of  Pestilence  and  Disease. 

Lucifer  (Lat.).  The  planet  Venus,  as  the  bright  "Morning  Star". 
Before  .Milton,  Lucifer  had  never  been  a  name  of  the  Devil.  Quite  the 
reverse,  since  the  Christian  Saviour  is  made  to  say  of  himself  in  Revela- 
tions (xvi.  22).  "I  am  .  .  .  the  bright  morning  star"  or  Lucifer. 
One  of  the  early  Popes  of  Rome  bore  that  name ;  and  there  was  even  a 
Christian  sect  in  the  fourth  century  which  was  called  the  Luciferians. 

Lully,  liai/mond.  An  alchemist,  adept  and  philo.sopher.  born  in 
the  13th  century,  on  the  island  of  Majorca.     It  is  claimed  for  him  that, 


GLOSSARY  17i» 

ill  a  moment  of  need,  ho  made  for  King  Edward  III.  of  England  st-v.ral 
millions  of  gold  "rose  nobles",  and  tlius  lielped  him  to  carry  on  war 
victoriously.  He  founded  several  colleges  for  the  study  of  Oriental 
hmguages,  and  Cardinal  Ximenes  was  one  of  his  patrons  and  held 
him  in  great  esteem,  as  also  Pope  John  XXI.  He  died  in  1314.  at  a 
good  old  age.  Literature  has  preserved  many  wild  stories  about  Ray- 
mond Lully,  which  would  form  a  most  extraordinary  romance,  lie  was 
the  elder  son  of  tlie  Seneshal  of  Majorca  and  inherited  great  wealth 
from  his  father. 

Lunar  Gods.  Called  in  India  the  Fathers,  "Pitris"  or  the  lunar 
ancestors.  They  are  subdivided,  like  the  rest,  into  seven  classes  or  Hier- 
archies. In  Egypt  although  the  moon  received  less  worship  than  in 
Chaldea  or  India,  still  Isis  stands  as  the  representative  of  Luna-Lunus. 
"the  celestial  Hermaphrodite".  Strange  enougli  while  tiie  modern 
connect  the  moon  only  with  lunacy  and  generation,  the  ancient  nations, 
who  knew  better,  have,  individually  and  collectively,  connected  their 
"wisdom  gods"  with  it.  Tims  in  Egypt  the  lunar  gods  are  Thoth- 
Hermes  and  Chons ;  in  India  it  is  Budha,  the  Son  of  Soma,  the  moon ; 
in  Chaldea  Nebo  is  the  lunar  god  of  Secret  Wisdom,  etc..  etc.,  Tlie  wife 
of  Thoth,  Sifix,  the  lunar  goddess,  holds  a  pole  with  fire  rays  or  the 
five-pointed  star,  symbol  of  man,  the  Microcosm,  in  distinction  from  the 
Septenary  Macrocosm.  As  in  all  theogonies  a  goddess  precedes  a  god, 
on  the  principle  most  likely  that  the  chick  can  hardly  precede  its  eg:?,  in 
Chaldea  the  moon  was  held  as  older  and  more  venerable  than  the  Sun. 
because,  as  they  said,  darkness  precedes  light  at  every  periodical  rebirth 
(or  "creation")  of  the  universe.  Osiris  although  connected  with  the 
Sun  and  a  Solar  god  is,  nevertheless,  born  on  Mount  Sinai,  because  Sin 
is  the  Chaldeo-Assyrian  word  for  the  moon ;  .so  was  Dio-Nysos,  god  of 
Nyssi  or  Nisi,  which  latter  appelation  was  that  of  Sinai  in  Egypt, 
where  it  was  called  Mount  Nissa.  The  crescent  is  not — as  proven  by 
many  writers — an  ensign  of  the  Turks,  but  was  adopted  by  Christians 
for  their  symbol  before  the  ]\Iahommedans.  For  ages  the  crescent  was 
the  emblem  of  the  Ciialdean  Astarte,  tlie  Egyptian  Isis,  and  the  Greek 
Diana,  all  of  them  Queens  of  Heaven,  and  finally  became  the  emblem  of 
Mary  the  Virgin.  "The  Greek  Christian  Empire  of  Constantinople 
held  it  as  their  palladium.  Upon  the  conquest  by  the  Turks,  tiie  Sultan 
adopted  it  .  .  .  and  since  that,  the  crescent  has  been  made  to  oppose 
the  idea  of  the  cross".    (E<j.  Belief). 

Lupercalia  (Lat.).  ]\Iagniticant  popular  festivals  celebrated  in 
ancient  Kome  on  February  loth,  in  honour  of  the  God  Pan,  during  which 
the  Luperci,  the  most  ancient  and  respectable  among  the  sacerdotal 
functionaries,  .sacrificed  two  goats  and  a  dog.  and  two  of  the  most  illus- 
trious youths  were  compelled  to  run  about  the  city  naked  (except  the 
loins)  wiiipping  all  those  whom  tiiey  met.  Pope  Gelasius  abolished  the 
Lupercalia  in  496,  but  substituted  for  them  on  the  same  day  the  pro- 
cession of  lighted  candles. 


180  THEOSOI'HIC.M. 

Luxor  lOcc).  A  compouiul  word  from  lii.r  (li};liti  and  tiiir  (tire), 
thus  luraiiiu}::  the  "Light  of  (divine)  Fire". 

Luxor,  Jirodu  rhood  of.  A  ctTtaiii  HrotlnilKMid  of  mystics.  Its 
name  liad  far  bettir  never  hctii  divulj^ed,  as  it  led  to  a  great  number 
of  well-mianing  people  being  deeeived,  and  relieved  of  their  money 
by  a  certain  bogus  Mystic  Society  of  speculators,  born  in  Europe,  only 
to  be  exposed  and  i\y  to  America.  Thr  luime  is  derived  from  the  ancient 
Lookshur  in  Belooehistan.  lying  l)etwccn  Bela  and  Kedjee.  The  order  is 
very  ancii-nt  and  the  most  secret  of  all.  It  is  useless  to  repeat  that  its 
members  disclaim  all  connection  witli  the  *'1I.B.  of  L.",  and  the  tutti 
qiianti  of  commercial  mystics,  whether  from  Glasgow  or  Boston. 

Lycanthropy  i(!r.).  IMiysiologically.  a  disease  or  mania,  during 
wliich  a  pcisoii  iina^MHt's  lie  is  a  wolf,  and  acts  as  such.  Occultly,  it 
means  tlu-  .same  as  "were-wolf",  the  psychological  faculty  of  certain 
sorcerers  to  appear  as  wolves.  Voltaire  states  that  in  the  district  of 
Jura,  in  two  years  between  1598  and  1600,  over  600  lycanthropes  were 
put  to  death  by  a  too  Christian  judge.  This  does  not  mean  that  Shep- 
herds accused  of  sorcery-,  and  seen  as  wolves,  had  indeed  the  power  of 
changing  themselves  physically  into  such ;  but  simply  that  they  had  the 
hypnotizing  power  of  making  people  (or  tliose  they  regarded  as  enemies), 
believe  they  saw  a  wolf  when  there  was  none  in  fact.  The  exercise  of 
such  power  is  truly  sorcery.  " Demoniacal"  possession  is  true  at  bottom, 
minus  the  devils  of  Christian  theology.  But  this  is  no  place  for  a  long 
disquisition  upon  occult  mysteries  and  magic  powers. 


GLOSSARY  181 


M. 


M. 


-The  thirteenth  letter  of  the  Hebrew  aud  of  the  English  alphabets, 
and  the  twenty-fourth  of  the  Arabic,  As  a  Roman  numeral,  this  letter 
stands  for  1000,  and  with  a  dash  on  it(M)  signifies  one  million.  In  the 
Plebrew  alphabet  Mem  symbolized  water,  and  as  a  numeral  is  equivalent 
to  40.  The  Sanskrit  ma  is  equivalent  to  number  5,  and  is  also  con- 
nected with  water  through  the  sign  of  the  Zodiac,  called  Makara  (q.v.). 
Moreover,  in  the  Hebrew  and  Latin  numerals  the  m  stands  "as  the 
definite  numeral  for  an  indeterminate  number''  (Mackenzie's  Mason. 
Cyc),  and  "the  Hebrew  sacred  name  of  God  applied  to  this  letter  is 
Mchorach,  Bcnedictns".  With  the  Esotericists  the  M  is  the  symbol  of 
the  Higher  Ego — Manas,  Mind. 

Ma  (Sk.).    Lit.,  "five".    A  name  of  Lakshmi. 

Ma,  Mut  (Eg.).  The  goddess  of  the  lower  world,  auotlici-  form  of 
Isis,  as  she  is  nature,  the  eternal  mother.  She  was  the  sovereign  and 
Ruler  of  the  North  "Wind,  the  precursor  of  the  overflow  of  the  Nile,  and 
thus  called  "the  opener  of  the  nostrils  of  the  living".  Slie  is  repre- 
sented offering  the  ankJi,  or  cross,  emblem  of  physical  life  to  her  wor- 
shippers, and  is  called  the  "Lady  of  Heaven". 

Machagistia.  ]\lagie,  as  once  taught  in  Persia  and  Chaldea,  and 
raised  in  its  occult  practices  into  a  religio-magianism.  Plato,  speaking 
of  Machagistia,  or  Magianism,  remarks  that  it  is  the  purest  form  of  the 
worship  of  things  divine. 

Macrocosm  (Gr.).     The  "Great  Universe"  literally,  or  Kosmos. 

Macroprosopus  (Gr.).  A  Kabballistic  term,  made  of  a  compound 
Greek  word:  meaning  the  Vast  or  Great  Countenance  (See  "Kabbalistic 
Faces")  ;  a  title  of  Kether,  the  Crown,  the  highest  Sephira.  It  is  the 
name  of  the  LTniverse,  called  Arilch-Anpin,  the  totality  of  that  of  which 
Microprosopus  or  Zauir-Anpin,  "the  lesser  eountt>nance".  is  the  part 
and  antitlu'sis.  In  its  highest  or  abstract  metaphysical  sense,  Micro- 
prosopus  is  Adam  Kadmon,  the  vehicle  of  Ain-Suph,  and  tho  crown  of 
the  Sephirothal  Tree,  though  since  Sephira  and  Adam  Kadraon  are  in 
fact  one  under  two  aspects,  it  comes  to  the  same  thing.  Interpretations 
are  many,  and  they  differ. 

Madhasadana  or  Madhu-Sudana  (Sk.).  "Slayer  of  ]\Iadhu" 
(a  demon),  a  title  of  Krishna  from  his  killing  the  latter. 

Madhava    (Sk.).      (1)     A   name    of   Vishnu    or    Krishna:    {2^     Th.- 
month  of  April;  (3)  A  title  of  Lakshmi  wlicu  written  Madhavi. 
Madhya  (Sk.).    Ten  thousand  billions. 


182  TiiKosoriiirAL 

Madhyama  (Sk.).  Used  of  simn-tliiiijr  Ix'friiuiinjrlt'ss  and  endless. 
'I'luis  \'acli  (Sound,  the  female  Loijos,  or  the  female  counterpart  of 
l»rahma),  is  said  to  exist  in  several  states,  one  of  which  is  that  of  Mad- 
hjiama,  which  is  equivalent  to  sayingr  that  Vach  is  cttrnal  in  one  sense: 
"the  Word  (Vach)  was  with  God,  and  in  God",  for  the  two  are  one. 

Madhyamikas  (Sk.).  A  sect  mentioned  in  the  Vw/nn<  Purana. 
A^M-iealily  to  tlie  Orientalists,  a  "Buddhist"  sect,  which  is  an  anachron- 
ism. It  was  probably  at  first  a  sect  of  Hindu  atheists.  A  later  school 
of  that  name,  teaching:  a  system  of  sophistic  nihilism,  that  reduces  every 
proi)osition  into  a  thesis  and  its  antithesis,  and  then  denies  both,  has 
been  started  in  Tibet  and  China.  It  adopts  a  few  principles  of  Nag:ar- 
juna,  who  was  one  of  the  founders  of  tlie  esoteric  Maliayana  systems, 
not  their  exoteric  travesties.  The  allejrory  that  regarded  Xafrarjuna's 
"Paramartha"  as  a  {?ift  from  the  Nthjas  (Serpents)  sliows  that  he  re- 
ceived his  teachiufjs  from  the  secret  school  of  adepts,  and  that  the  real 
tenets  are  therefore  kept  secret. 

Maga  (Sk.).  The  i)riests  of  tlie  Sun,  nientioiied  in  tlu'  VisJniu 
Purima.  They  are  the  later  ^lagi  of  Chaldea  and  Iran,  the  forefathers 
of  the  modern  Parsis. 

Magadha  (Sk.).  An  an<'ient  eoniiti-y  in  India,  under  Buddhist 
Kiiiiis. 

Mage,  oi-  Magidii.  From  M(i<i  or  Muhu.  The  word  is  the  root  of  the 
word  magician.  J\Iaha-atma  (the  great  Soul  or  Spirit)  in  India  had 
its  priests  in  the  pre-Vcdic  times.  The  ]Magians  were  priests  of  the 
fire-god;  we  find  them  among  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians,  as  well 
as  among  the  Persian  fir<'-worsliip])ers.  Tiie  three  Magi,  also  denomi- 
nated kings,  that  are  said  to  have  made  gifts  of  gold,  incense  and  rayrrii 
to  the  infant  Jesus,  were  fire-worshippers  like  the  rest,  and  a.strologers ; 
for  they  saw  his  star.  The  high  priest  of  the  Parsis,  at  Surat,  is  called 
Mohrd.  Others  derived  the  name  from  Megh  ;  ]\Ieh-ab  signifying  some- 
thing grand  and  noble.  Zoroaster's  disciples  were  called  Mcghestom, 
according  to  Kleukei*. 

Magi  (Lai.).  The  name  of  tlie  ancient  hereditary  priests  and 
learned  adepts  in  Persia  and  Media,  a  word  derived  from  Mdha,  great, 
which  became  later  niog  or  mag,  a  priest  in  Pehlevi.  Porphyry  de- 
scribes them  {Ahst.  iv.  16)  as  "The  learned  men  who  are  engaged  among 
the  Persians  in  the  .service  of  the  Deity  are  called  ]\Iagi",  and  Suidas 
informs  us  that  "anuuig  the  Persians  the  lovers  of  wisdom  (philalcthai) 
are  called  Magi".  The  Zrndavcsta  (ii.  171,  261)  divides  them  into  three 
degrees:  (1)  The  Hcrbeds  or  "Noviciates";  (2)  Moheds  or  "Masters"; 
(3)  Desttir  Moheds,  or  "Perfect  IMa.sters".  The  Chaldees  had  similar 
colleges,  as  also  the  p]gyptians,  Destur  Moheds  being  identical  with  the 
Ilierophants  of  the  mysteries,  as  practised  in  Greece  and  Egypt. 

Magic.  The  great  "Science".  According  to  Deveria  and  other 
Orientalists,  "magic  was  considered  as  a  sacred  science  inseparable  from 


GLOSSARY  183 

ivligion"  by  tlie  oldest  and  most  civilized  and  learned  nations.  The 
Egyptians,  for  instance,  were  one  of  the  most  sincerely  religious  nations, 
as  were  and  still  are  the  Hindus.  "IMagic  consists  of,  and  is  acquired  by 
the  worship  of  tlie  gods",  said  Plato.  Could  then  a  nation,  which,  ow- 
ing to  the  irrefragable  evidence  of  inscriptions  and  papyri,  is  proved  to 
have  firmly  bclived  in  magic  for  thousands  of  years,  have  been  deceived 
for  so  long  a  time.  And  it  is  likely  that  generations  upon  generations 
of  a  learned  and  pious  hierarchy,  many  among  wiiom  led  lives  of  self- 
matrydom,  lioliness  and  asceticism,  would  have  gone  on  deceiving  them- 
selves and  the  people  (or  even  only  the  latter)  for  the  pleasure  of  per- 
petuating belief  in  "miracles"?  Fanatics,  we  aj*e  told,  will  do  anything 
to  enforce  belief  in  their  god  or  idols.  To  this  we  reply :  in  such  case. 
Brahmans  and  Egyptian  Ft  khfj(  t-(nn(  us  (q.v.)  or  Ilicropiiants  would 
not  have  popularized  belief  in  the  power  of  man  hy  magic  practices  to 
commanel  the  services  of  the  gods:  which  gods,  are  in  truth,  but  the 
occult  powers  or  potencies  of  Nature,  personified  by  the  learned  priests 
themselves,  in  which  they  reverenced  only  the  attributes  of  the  one  un- 
known and  nameless  Principle.  As  Proclus  the  Platonist  ably  puts  it : 
"Ancient  priests,  when  they  considered  that  there  is  a  certain  alliance 
and  sympathy  in  natural  things  to  each  other,  and  of  things  manifest 
to  occult  powers,  and  discovered  that  all  things  subsist  in  all,  fabricated 

a  sacred  science  from  this  mutual  sympathy  and  similarity 

and  applied  for  occult  purposes,  both  celestial  and  terrene  natures,  by 
means  of  which,  through  a  certain  similitude,  they  deduced  divine  virtues 
into  this  inferior  abode".  ]\Iagic  is  the  science  of  communicating  with 
and  directing  supernal,  supramundane  Potencies,  as  well  as  of  com- 
manding those  of  the  lower  spheres;  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  hidden 
mysteries  of  nature  known  to  only  the  few,  because  they  are  so  difficult 
to  acquire,  without  falling  into  sins  against  nature.  Ancient  and  me- 
diffival  mystics  divided  magic  into  three  classes — Theurgia.  Goctia 
and  natural  Magic.  "Tlieurgia  has  long  since  been  appropriated 
as  the  peculiar  spliere  of  the  theosophists  and  metaphysi- 
cians", says  Kenneth  jMackenzic.  Goetia  is  black  magic,  and  "nat- 
ural (or  white)  magic  has  risen  with  healing  in  its  wings  to  the  proud 
position  of  an  exact  and  progressive  study".  Tlie  comments  added  by 
our  late  learned  Brother  are  remarkable.  "The  realistic  desires  of 
modern  times  have  contributed  to  bring  magic  into  disrepute  and  ridi- 
cule. .  .  Faith  (in  one's  own  self)  is  an  essential  element  in  magic, 
and  existed  long  before  other  ideas  which  presume  its  pre-existenee.  It 
is  said  that  it  takes  a  wise  man  to  make  a  fool;  and  a  mjui's  ideas  must 
be  exalted  almost  to  madness,  i.e.,  his  brain  susceptibilities  must  be  in- 
creased far  beyond  the  low,  miserable  status  of  modern  civilization,  be- 
fore he  can  become  a  true  magician;  (for)  a  pursuit  of  this  science  im- 
plies a  certain  amount  of  isolation  and  an  abnegation  of  Self".  A  very 
great  isolation,  certainly,  the  achievement  of  which  constitutes  a  won- 
derful phenomenon,  a  miracle  in  itself.     Withal  magic  is  not  something 


184  THEOSOI'JIICAL 

supernatural.  As  explained  by  Jamhliehus,  "they  through  the  sacer- 
dotal theurgy  announce  that  they  are  able  to  ascend  to  more  elevated  and 
universal  Essences,  and  to  those  tiiat  are  established  above  fate,  viz.,  to 
god  and  the  deniiurgus:  neitlier  employing  matter,  nor  assuming  any 
other  tilings  besides,  except  the  observation  of  a  sensible  time".  Already 
some  are  beginning  to  recognize  tiie  existence  of  subtle  i)o\V('i's  and  in- 
tiuences  in  nature  of  which  they  have  hitherto  known  nought.  But  as 
Dr.  Carter  Blake  truly  remarks,  "the  nineteenth  century  is  not  that 
which  has  observed  the  genesis  of  new,  nor  the  completion  of  old,  methods 
of  tiiought";  to  which  Mr.  Bonwick  adds  that  "if  the  ancients  knew  but 
little  of  our  mode  of  investigations  into  tiie  secrets  of  nature,  we  know 
still  less  of  their  mode  of  research". 

Magic,  White,  or  "Beneficent  Magic",  so-called,  is  elivine  magic, 
devoid  of  selfishness,  love  of  power,  of  ambition,  or  lucre,  and  bent  only 
on  doing  good  to  the  world  in  general,  and  one's  neighbor  in  particular. 
The  smallest  attempt  to  use  one's  abnormal  powers  for  the  gratification 
of  self,  makes  of  these  powers  sorcery  or  black  magic. 

Magic  Black.     (Vide  Supra.). 

Magician.  This  term,  once  a  title  of  renown  and  distinction,  has 
come  to  be  wholly  perverted  from  its  true  meaning.  Once  the  synonym 
of  all  that  was  honourable  and  reverent,  of  a  possessor  of  learning  and 
wisdom,  it  has  become  degraded  into  an  epithet  to  designate  one  who  is 
a  pretender  and  a  juggler;  a  charlatan,  in  short,  or  one  who  has  "sold 
his  soul  to  the  Evil  One",  who  misuses  his  knowledge,  and  employs  it 
for  low  and  dangerous  uses,  according  to  the  teachings  of  the  clergy, 
and  a  mass  of  superstitious  fools  who  believe  the  magician  a  sorcerer  and 
an  "Enchanter".  The  word  is  derived  from  Magh,  Mah,  in  Sanskrit 
Mdha — great ;  a  man  well  versed  in  esoteric  knowledge.     {Isis  Unveiled). 

Magna  Mater  (Lat.).  "Great  ^Mother"  A  title  given  in  days  of 
old.  to  all  the  cliief  goddesses  of  the  nations,  such  as  Diana  of  Ephesus, 
Isis,  Mauth,  and  many  others. 

Magnes.  An  expression  used  by  Paracelsus  and  the  medieval  The- 
osophists.  It  is  the  spirit  of  light,  or  Akasa.  A  word  much  used  by  the 
mediaeval  Alchemists. 

Magnetic  Masonry.  Also  called  "latric"  masonry.  It  is  de- 
scribed as  a  Brotherhood  of  Healers  (from  iatrike  a  Greek  word  mean- 
ing "the  art  of  healing"),  and  is  greatly  used  by  the  "Brothers  of 
Light"  as  Kenneth  Mackenzie  states  in  the  Royal  Masonic  Cyclopedia. 
There  appears  to  be  a  tradition  in  some  secret  Masonic  works — so  says 
Ragon  at  any  rate,  the  great  IMasonic  authority — to  the  effect  that  there 
was  a  Masonic  degree  called  the  Oracle  of  Cos,  "instituted  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century  B.C.,  from  the  fact  that  Cos  was  the  birthplace  of  Hip- 
pocrates". Tlie  iatrike  was  a  distijict  characteristic  of  the  priests  who 
took  charge  of  the  patients  in  the  ancient  Asclcpia,  the  temples  where  the 
god  Asclepios  (^sculapius)  was  said  to  heal  the  sick  and  the  lame. 


GLOSSARY  185 

Magnetism.  A  Force  in  nature  and  in  man.  When  it  is  the 
former,  it  is  an  agent  which  gives  rise  to  the  various  phenomena  of  at- 
traction, of  polarity,  etc.  When  the  latter,  it  becomes  "animal"  mag- 
netism, in  contradistinction  to  cosmic,  and  terrestrial  magnetism. 

Magnetism,  Animal.  While  official  science  calls  it  a  "supposed" 
agent,  and  utterly  rejects  its  actuality,  the  teeming  raiUions  of  antiquity 
and  of  the  now  living  Asiatic  nations,  Occultists,  Theosophists,  Spirit- 
ualists, and  Mystics  of  every  kind  and  description  proclaim  it  as  a  well 
established  fact.  Animal  magnetism  is  a  fluid,  an  emanation.  Some 
people  can  emit  it  for  curative  purposes  through  their  eyes  and  the  tips 
of  their  fingers,  while  the  rest  of  all  creatures,  mankind,  animals  and 
even  every  inanimate  object,  emanate  it  either  as  an  aura,  or  a  varying 
light,  and  that  whether  consciously  or  not.  When  acted  upon  by  con- 
tact with  a  patient  or  by  the  will  of  a  human  operator,  it  is  called  "Mes- 
merism" iq.v.). 

Magnum  Opus  (Lat.).  In  Alchemy  the  final  com])letion.  the 
"Great  Labour"  or  Grand  (Euvre;  the  production  of  the  "Philosopher's 
Stone"  and  "Elixir  of  Life"  which,  though  not  by  far  the  myth  some 
sceptics  would  have  it,  has  yet  to  be  accepted  sj^mbolically,  and  is 
full  of  mystic  meaning. 

Magus  (Lat.).  In  the  New  Testament  it  means  a  Sage,  a  wise  man 
of  the  Chaldeans ;  it  is  in  English  often  used  for  a  ^Magician,  any  wonder- 
worker ;  in  the  Rosicrucian  Society  it  is  the  title  of  the  highest  members, 
the  IXth  grade;  the  Supreme  Magus  is  the  Head  of  the  Order  in  the 
"Outer";  the  Magi  of  the  "Inner"  are  unknown  except  to  those  of  the 
Vlllth  grade,     [w.w.w.] 

Maha  Buddhi  (Sk.).  Mahat.  The  Intelligent  Soul  of  the  AVorld. 
The  seven  Prakritis  or  seven  "natures"  or  planes,  are  counted  from 
Mahabuddhi  downwards. 

Maha  Chohan  (Sk.).  The  chief  of  a  spiritual  Hierarchy,  or  of  a  school 
of  Occultism ;  the  head  of  the  trans-Himalayan  mj'stics. 

Maha  Deva  (Sk.).    Lit.,  "great  god";  a  title  of  Siva. 

Maha  Guru  (Sk.).    Lit.,  "great  teacher".     The  Initiator. 

Mahajwala  (Sk.).    A  certain  hell. 

Maha  Kala  (Sk.).  "Great  Time".  A  name  of  Siva  as  the  "Des- 
troyer", and  of  Vishnu  as  the  "Preserver". 

Maha  Kalpa  (Sk.).    The  "great  age." 

Maha  Manvantara  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  great  interludes  between  the 
"Manus".  The  period  of  universal  activity.  Manvantara  implying 
here  simply  a  period  of  activity,  as  opposed  to  Pralaya,  or  rest — with- 
out reference  to  the  length  of  the  cycle. 

Maha  Maya  (Sk.).  The  great  illusion  of  manifestation.  This 
universe,  and  all  in  it  tlieir  mutual  relation,  is  called  the  great  Illusion 
or  Mahdmdyd.    It  is  also  the  usual  title  given  to  Gautama  the  Buddha's 


186  TIIEOS01'Jll<  Al. 

Immaculate    Motlu-r — Mayadt'vi.    (ir   tlio    "Gnat    Mystrry",    as   sh«'    is 
callt'd  ]»y  tht'  Mystics. 

Maha  Pralaya  (Sk.).  Tin-  oitposito  of  Mahamanvantai-a.  liter- 
ally "till-  "JTrcat  Dissolution' '.  tlif  "Xijrlit"  followiiifr  the  "Day  of 
Brahma''.  It  is  the  grout  rest  and  sleep  of  all  nature  after  a  period  of 
active  manifestatipn ;  orthodox  Christians  would  refer  to  it  as  the  "De- 
struction of  the  World". 

Maha  Parinibbana  Sutta  (Pah.).  One  of  tin-  most  aiitlioritativr  of 
the  Buddhist  sacred  writings. 

Maha  Punisha  (Sk.).    Supreme  or  Great  Spirit.    A  tith-  of  Vishnu. 

Maha  Rajikas  (Sk.).  A  qana  or  cla.ss  of  gods  TM\  in  inimber. 
Certain  Forces  in  esoteric  teachings. 

Maha  Sunyata  (Sk.).    Space,  or  eternal  law;  the  great  void  or  chaos. 

Maha  "Vidya  (Sk.).  The  great  esoteric  science.  The  highest  Initiates 
alone  are  in  possession  of  this  science,  which  embraces  almost  universal 
knowledge. 

Maha  Yogin  (Sk.).    The  "great  ascetic".    A  title  of  Siva. 

Maha  Yuga  (Sk.).  The  aggregate  of  four  Yugas  or  ages,  of  4.- 
320.000  .solar  years:  a  "Day  of  Brahma",  in  the  Brahmanical  system; 
lit.,  "the  great  age." 

Mahabharata  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  "great  war";  the  celebrated  epie 
poem  of  India  (probably  the  longest  poem  in  the  world)  which  includes 
both  the  Ramayana  and  the  Bhagavad  Gitd  "the  Song  Celestial".  No 
two  Orientalists  agree  as  to  its  date.  But  it  is  undeniably  extremely 
ancient. 

Mahabharatian  period.  According  to  tiie  best  Hindu  ( 'oimiientatots 
and  Swami  Dayanand  Saraswati,  5,000  years  B.C. 

Mahabhashya  (Sk.).  The  great  commentary  on  Panini's  gram- 
mar by  Patanjali. 

Mahabhautic   (Sk.).     Belonging  to  the  Macrocosmic   jn-inciples. 

Mahabhutas    (Sk.).     Gross   elementary   principles   of   matter. 

Maharajahs,  The  Four  (Sk.).  The  four  great  Karmic  deities  with  tiie 
Northern  Bu<l(lhists  placed  at  the  four  cardinal  points  to  watch  mankind. 

Mahar  Loka  (Sk.).  A  region  wherein  dwell  the  Munis  or 
"Saints"  during  Pralaya;  according  to  the  Puranic  accounts.  It  is  the 
u-sual  abode  of  Bhriga,  a  Prajapati  (Progenitor)  and  a  Rishi,  one  of  the 
seven  who  are  said  to  be  co-existent  with  Brahma. 

Mahasura  (Sk.).  The  great  Asura :  exoterically — Satan,  esot- 
erieally — the  great  god. 

Mahat  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "The  great  one".  The  tirst  principle  of  Uni- 
versal Intelligence  and  Consciousness.     In  the  Puranic  philosophy  the 


GLOSSARY  137 

first  product  of  root-nature  or  Pradhana  (the  same  as  Mulaprakriti)  ; 
the  producer  of  Maiiaa  tlie  tliinking;  principle,  and  of  Ahankara,  egotism 
or  the  feeling  of  "I  am  I"'  (in  the  lower  Manas). 

Mahatma.  Lit.,  "great  soul".  An  adept  of  the  liighest  order, 
pjxalted  beings  who,  having  attained  to  the  mastery  over  their  lower 
principles  are  thus  living  unimpeded  by  the  "man  of  flesh",  and  are 
in  possession  of  knowledge  and  power  commensurate  witli  the  stage  they 
have  reached  in  their  spiritual  evolution.  Called  in  Pali  Rahats  and 
Arhats. 

Mahatmya  (Sk.).  "Magnanimity",  a  legend  of  a  shriiif.  or  any 
lioly  j)laet'. 

Mahatowarat  (Sk.).  Used  of  Parabrahm ;  greater  than  tiu-  greatest 
spheres. 

Mahattattwa  (Sk.).  The  first  of  the  seven  creations  called  re- 
spectively in  the  Purdnas — Mahattattwa,  Chuta,  Indriya.  Mukhya,  Tir- 
.\aksrotas,  Urdhwasrotas  and  Arvaksrotas. 

Mahoraga  fSk.).  Mahd  uraga,  "great  serpent" — Sesha  or  any  others. 

Mahavanso  (Pali.).  A  Buddhist  historical  work  written  by  Bhik- 
shu  Mohanama,  the  uncle  of  King  Dhatusma.  An  authority  on  the 
history  of  Buddhism  and  its  spread  in  the  island  of  Ceylon. 

Mahayana  (Pal.).  A  school;  lit.,  "the  great  vehicle".  A  mysti- 
cal system  founded  by  Nagarjuna.  Its  books  were  written  in  the  second 
century  B.C. 

Maitreya  Buddha  (Sk.).  The  same  as  the  Kalki  Avatar  of 
Vishnu  (the  "White  Horse"  Avatar),  and  of  Sosiosh  and  other  Messiahs. 
The  only  difference  lies  in  the  dates  of  their  appearances.  Thus,  while 
Vishnu  is  expected  to  appear  on  his  white  horse  at  the  end  of  the  present 
Kali  Yuga  age  "for  the  final  destruction  of  the  wicked,  the  renovation 
of  creation  and  the  restoration  of  purity",  ]\Iaitreya  is  expected  earlier. 
Exoteric  or  popular  teaching  making  slight  variations  on  the  esoteric 
doctrine  states  that  Sakyamuni  (Gautama  Buddha)  visited  him  in 
Tushita  (a  celestial  abode)  and  commissioned  him  to  issue  thence  on  earth 
as  his  successor  at  the  ex])iration  of  five  thousand  years  after  his 
(Buddha's)  death.  This  would  be  in  less  than  3,000  years  hence.  Esoteric 
philosophy  teaches  that  the  next  I^uddha  will  appear  during  the  seventh 
(sub)  race  of  this  Round.  The  fact  is  that  ^Maitreya  was  a  follower  of 
Buddha,  a  well-known  Arhat,  though  not  his  direct  disciple,  and  that  he 
was  the  founder  of  an  esoteric  philosophical  school.  As  shown  by  Eitel 
( Sa)iskrit-Chi»(sr  Diet.),  "statues  were  erected  in  his  honour  as  early  as 
B.C.  350". 

Makara  (Sk.).  "The  Crocodile."  in  Euroj)e  the  same  as  Cap- 
ricorn ;  the  tenth  sign  of  the  Zodiac.  Esoterically,  a  mystic  class  of 
devas.     With  the  Hindus,  the  vehicle  of  Varuna,  the  water-god. 


Igg  THEOSOl'JUt  Al. 

Makara  Ketu  (Sk.).  A  iianif  of  Kj'mui.  tlir  Iliiulu  j^'od  nf  low  and 
(.Ifsiiw 

Makaram  or  J'diicluikdrum  (Sk.).  In  occult  syiiiholo^y  a  penta- 
gon, tilt'  live-pointed  star,  the  five  limbs,  or  extremities,  of  man.  Very 
mystical. 

Makaras  (Sk.).     The  tive  M'a  of  the  Tantrikas.     (See  ••Tantra";. 

Malachim  (llcb.).   The  messengers  or  angels. 

Malkuth  (Ilcb.).  The  kingdom,  the  tenth  Sephira,  corresponding' 
to  tlie  linal  II  (he)  of  the  Tetragrammaton  or  IHVII.  It  is  the  Inferior 
Mother,  the  Bride  of  the  Mieroprosopiis  (q.v.)  ;  also  called  tiie  "Queen". 
It  is.  in  one  sense,  the  Shekinah.     [w.w.w.] 

Mamitu  (ChaUL).     The  goddess  of  Fate.     A  kintl  ol'  Xcniesis. 

Manas  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  mind",  the  mental  faculty  which  makes  of 
man  an  intelligent  and  moral  being,  and  distinguishes  him  from  the  mere 
animal;  a  synonym  of  Miihat).  Esot(  ricalh/,  however,  it  means,  when 
unqualified,  the  Higher  Ego,  or  the  sentient  reincarnating  Principle  in 
man.  When  qualified  it  is  called  by  Theosopliists  Buddhi-Manas  or  the 
Spiritual  Soul  in  contradistinction  to  its  human  reflection — Kama- 
Manas. 

Manas,  Kama  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  mind  of  desire".  With  the  Bud- 
dhists it  is  the  sixth  of  the  Chadayatana  {q.v.),  or  the  six  organs  of 
knowledge,  lienee  the  highest  of  these,  synthesized  by  the  seventh  called 
Klichta,  the  spiritual  perception  of  that  which  defiles  this  (lower)  Manas, 
or  the  "Human-animal  Soul",  as  the  Occultists  term  it.  While  the 
Higher  Manas  or  the  Ego  is  directly  related  to  Vijndna  (the  10th  of  the 
12  Nidanas) — which  is  the  perfect  knowledge  of  all  forms  of  knowledge, 
whether  relating  to  object  or  subject  in  the  nidanic  concatenation  of 
causes  and  effects;  the  lower,  the  Kama  Manas  is  but  one  of  the  Indriija 
or  organs  (roots)  of  Sense.  Very  little  can  be  said  of  the  dual  Manas 
here,  as  the  doctrine  that  treats  of  it,  is  correctly  stated  only  in  esoteric 
w»rks.    Its  mention  can  thus  be  only  verj-  superficial. 

Manas  Sanyama  (Sk.).  Perfect  concentration  of  the  mind,  and 
control  over  it,  during  Yoga  practices. 

Manas  Taijasi  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  "radiant"  Manas;  a  state  of  the 
Higher  P]go,  which  only  high  metaphysicians  are  able  to  realize  and 
comprehend. 

Manasa  or  Manasicin  (Sk.).  "The  efflux  of  the  divine  mind",  and 
explained  as  meaning  that  this  efflux  signifies  the  manasa  or  divine  sons 
of  Brahma- Viraj.  Nilakantha  who  is  the  authority  for  this  statement, 
further  explains  the  term  "manasa"  by  7nanomdtrasarira.  These  Man- 
asa are  the  Arupa  or  incorporeal  sons  of  the  Prajapati  Viraj,  in  another 
version.  But  as  Arjuna  Misra  identifies  Viraj  with  Brahma,  and  as 
Brahma  is  Mahat,  the  universal  mind,  the  exoteric  blind  becomes  plain. 
The  Pitris  are  identical  with  the  Kumara,  the  Vairaja,  the  Manasa- 
Putra  (mind  sons),  and  are  finally  identified  with  the  human  "Egos". 


GLOSSARY 


.  189 


Manasa  Dhyanis  (Sk.).  The  highest  Pitris  in  the  Puranas;  the 
A<rnishwatt}ias,  or  Solar  Ancestors  of  ]\Ian,  those  who  made  of  Man  a 
rational  being,  by  incarnating  in  the  senseless  forms  of  semi-ethereal 
fiesh  of  the  men  of  the  third  race.     (See  Vol.  II.  of  Secret  Doctrine). 

Manasas  (Sk.).  Those  who  endowed  humanity  with  manas  or  in- 
telligence, the  immortal  EGOS  in  men.     (See  "Manas"). 

Manasasarovara  (Sk.).  Phonetically  pronounced  Mansoravora. 
A  sacred  lake  in  Tibet,  in  the  Himalayas,  also  called  Anavntapta. 
Manasasarovara  is  the  name  of  the  tutelary  deity  of  that  lake  and,  ac- 
cording to  popular  folk-lore,  is  said  to  be  a  tidga,  a  "serpent"'.  This, 
translated  esoterically,  means  a  great  adept,  a  sage.  The  lake  is  a  great 
place  of  yearly  pilgrimage  for  the  Hindus,  as  the  Vedas  are  claimed  to 
have  been  written  on  its  shores. 

Manava  (Sk.).  A  land  of  ancient  India;  a  Kalpa  or  Cycle.  The 
name  of  a  weapon  used  by  Rama;  meaning  "of  Manu",  as — 

Manava  Dharma  Shastra — is  the  ancient  code  of  law  of,  or  by 
Manu. 

Mandala  (Sk.)     A  circle ;  also  the  ten  divisions  of  the  Vedas. 

Mandara  (Sk.).  The  mountain  used  by  the  gods  as  a  stick  to  churn 
the  ocean  of  milk  in  the  Purdnas. 

Mandakini  (Sk.).    The  heavenly  Ganga  or  Ganges. 

Mandragora  (Gr.).  A  plant  whose  root  has  the  human  form.  In 
Occultism  it  is  used  by  Mack  magicians  for  various  illicit  objects,  and 
some  of  the  "left-hand"  Occultists  make  homuncidi  with  it.  It  is  com- 
monly called  mandrake,  and  is  supposed  to  cry  out  when  pulled  out  of 
the  ground. 

Manes  or  Manus  (Lat.).  Benevolent  "gods",  i.e.,  "spooks"  of  the 
lower  world  {Kdmaloka)  ;  the  deified  shades  of  the  dead — of  the  ancient 
profane,  and  the  "materialized"  ghosts  of  the  modern  Spiritualists,  be- 
lieved to  be  the  souls  of  the  departed,  whereas,  in  truth,  they  are  only 
their  empty  shells,  or  images. 

Manichaeans  Lat..).  A  sect  of  the  third  century  which  believed 
in  tivo  eternal  principles  of  good  and  evil;  the  former  furnishing  man- 
kind with  souls,  and  the  latter  with  bodies.  This  sect  was  founded  by  a 
certain  half-Christian  Mani,  who  gave  himself  out  as  the  expected  "Com- 
forter", the  Messiah  and  Christ.  ]\Iany  centuries  later,  after  the  sect 
was  dead,  a  Brotherhood  arose,  calling  itself  the  "Manichees",  of  a 
masonic  character  with  several  degrees  of  initiation.  Their  ideas  were 
Kabbalistic,  but  were  misunderstood. 

Mano  (Gnost.).  The  Lord  of  Light.  Rex  Lucis,  in  the  Codex  Naz- 
arcvus.  He  is  the  Second  "Life"  of  the  second  or  manifested  trinity 
"the  heavenly  life  and  light,  and  older  than  the  architect  of  heaven  and 
earth"  [Cod.  Naz.,  Vol.  I.  p.  145).  These  trinities  are  as  follows:  The 
Supreme  Lord  of  sph^ndonr  and  of  light,  luminous  and  refulgent,  before 


190  .  THEOSOPHK'AL 

whicli  no  other  existed,  is  called  Corona  (tiie  crown)  ;  Lord  Ferlio,  the 
unrevealed  life  wliieh  existed  in  the  forni"r  from  eternity;  and  Lord 
Jordan — the  spirit,  the  livinff  water  of  jzraee  (Ibid.  II.,  pp.  45-Gl).  He 
is  the  one  throuf;h  wlioni  alone  we  can  he  saved.  These  three  constitute 
the  trinity  in  absconditu.  The  second  trinity  is  compo.stid  of  the  three 
lives.  The  first  is  the  similitude  of  Lord  Ferho,  throu«jh  whom  he  has 
proceeded  forth ;  and  the  second  Ferho  is  the  King  of  Light — Mano. 
The  second  life  is  Ish  Avion  (Pleroraa),  the  vase  of  election,  containing 
the  visible  thought  of  the  Jurdanns  Maximus — the  i[tipr  (or  its  inti-lligi- 
hle  reflection),  the  i)rototyi)e  of  the  living  water,  who  is  tlie  "spiritual 
Jordan".  {Ibid.  II.,  p.  211).  The  third  life,  which  is  produced  by  the 
other  two,  is  Ab.vtl'r  (Ab,  the  Parent  or  Father).  This  is  the  mysterious 
and  decrepit  "Aged  of  the  Aged",  the  Ancient  "Sc/jcmi  sui  obtcgcntem 
et  grandavum  mundi".  This  latter  third  Life  is  the  Father  of  the  De- 
miurge Fetahil,  the  Creator  of  the  world,  whom  the  Ojihites  call  Ilda- 
Baoth  iq.v.),  though  Fetahil  is  the  only-bcgottcn  one,  the  reflection  of 
the  Father,  Abatur,  who  begets  him  by  looking  into  the  "dark  water". 
Sophia  Aciiamotli  also  begets  her  Son  Ilda-Baotli  the  Demiurge,  by 
looking  into  the  chaos  of  matter.  But  the  Lord  ^lano,  "the  Lord  of 
loftiness,  the  Lord  of  all  genii",  is  higher  than  the  Father,  in  this  ka- 
balistie  Codex — one  is  purely  spiritual,  the  other  material.  So,  for  in- 
stance, while  Abatur 's  "only-begotten"  one  is  the  genius  Fetahil,  the 
Creator  of  the  physical  world,  Lord  Mano,  the  "Lord  of  Celsitude", 
who  is  the  son  of  Him.  who  is  "the  Father  of  all  w'ho  preach  the  Gospel", 
produces  also  an  "only-begotten"  one,  the  Lord  Lehdaio,  "a  just  Lord". 
He  is  the  Christos,  the  anointed,  who  pours  out  the  "grace"  of  the  In- 
visible Jordan,  the  Spirit  of  the  Highest  Craivn.  (See  for  further  in- 
formation Isis  Unveiled.    Vol.  II.,  pp.  227,  et.  seq.). 

Manodhatu  (Sk.)..  Lit.,  the  "World  of  the  mind",  meaning  not 
only  all  our  mental  faculties,  but  also  one  of  the  divisions  of  the  plane  of 
mind.  Each  human  being  has  his  Manodhatu  or  plane  of  thought  pro- 
portionate with  the  degree  of  his  intellect  and  his  mental  faculties,  be- 
yond which  he  can  go  only  by  studying  and  developing  his  higher  spirit- 
ual factuUics  ill  one  of  the  higher  spheres  of  thought. 

Manomaya  Kosha  (Sk.).  A  Vedantic  term,  meaning  the  Sheath 
(Kosha)  of  the  Manomaya,  an  equivalent  for  fourth  and  fifth  "princi- 
ples" in  man.  In  esoteric  philosophy  this  "Kosha"  corresponds  to  the 
dual  Manas. 

Manticism,  or  Mantic  Frenzy.  During  this  state  was  developed 
the  gift  of  prophecy.  The  two  words  are  nearly  synonymous.  One  was 
as  honoured  as  the  other.  Pythagoras  and  Plato  held  it  in  high  esteem, 
and  Socrates  advised  his  disciples  to  study  Manticism.  (The  Church 
Fathers,  who  condemned  so  severely  the  mantic  frenzy  in  Pagan  priests 
and  Pythias,  were  not  above  applying  it  to  their  own  uses).  The  Mon- 
tanists,  who  took  their  name  from  Montanus,  a  bishop  of  Phrygia,  who 
was  considered  divinely  inspired,  contended  with  the  udi'Teig  (manteis) 


GLOSSARY  1 9 1 

or  proi)het.s.  "Tertulliaii.  Augustine,  and  the  martyrs  of  Carthage, 
were  of  the  number",  says  the  author  of  Prophecif,  Anrirnt  and  Modcni. 
"The  Montanists  seem  to  have  resembk'd  the  Bacchantes  in  the  wild 
enthusiasm  that  characterized  their  orgies",  he  adds.  There  is  a  diversity 
of  opinion  as  to  the  origin  of  the  word  Maniicism.  There  was  the  famous 
Mantis  the  Seer,  in  the  days  of  ]Melampus  and  Pratus,  King  of  Argos ; 
and  there  was  :\Ianto,  tlie  daughter  of  the  prophet  of  Thebes,  herself  a 
prophetess.  Cicero  di-scribes  prophecy  and  mantic  frenzy,  by  saying, 
that  "in  the  inner  recesses  of  the  mind  is  divine  prophecy  hidden  and 
confined,  a  divine  impulse,  which  when  it  burns  more  vividly  is  called 
furor"',  frenzy.     {Isis  Unveiled). 

Mantra  Period  (^h.).  One  of  tin-  four  i)eriods  into  whieli  V.'di<- 
literature  has  been  divided. 

Mantra  Shastra  (Hk.).  P>rahiiiaiiieal  writings  on  the  occult 
science  of  incantations. 

Mantra  Tantra  Shastras  (^k.).  Works  on  incantations,  but  specially 
on  magic. 

Mantras  (Sk.).  Verses  from  the  Vedic  works,  used  as  incantations 
and  charms.  By  IMantras  are  meant  all  those  portions  of  the  Vedas 
which  are  distinct  from  the  Brahmanas,  or  their  interpretation. 

Mantrika  Sakti  (Sk.).  The  power,  or  the  occult  potency  of  mystic 
words,  sounds,  numbers  or  letters  in  these  ]\Iantras. 

Manjusri  (Tib.).  The  God  of  AVisdom.  Tn  Esoteric  philosophy  a 
certain  Dyhan  Cliohan. 

Manu  (Sk.).  The  great  Indian  legislator.  The  name  comes  from 
the  Sanskrit  root  man  "to  think"— mankind  really,  but  stands  for 
Swayambhuva.  the  first  of  the  :Manus,  who  started  from  Swdyamhhu. 
"the  self-existent"  hence  the  Logos,  and  the  progenitor  of  mankind. 
Manu  is  the  first  Legislator,  almost  a  Divine  Being. 

Manu  Swayambhuva  (Sk.).  The  heavenly  man.  Adam-Kadmon, 
the  s_\ntliesis  of  tlie  fourteen  ]\Ianus. 

Manus  (Sk.).  The  fourteen  Manus  are  tlie  })atrons  or  guardians  of 
the  race  cycles  in  a  ]\Ianvantara,  or  Day  of  Brahma.  The  primeval 
Manus  are  seven,  they  become  fourteen  in  the  Piirdnas. 

Manushi  or  Mamishi  Biiddhas  (Sk.).  Human  Buddhas.  Bodhi- 
.sattvas.  or  incarnated  Dyhan  Chohans. 

Manvantara  (Sk.).  A  period  of  manifestation,  as  opposed  to 
Pralaya  (dissolution,  or  rest),  applied  to  various  cycles,  especially  to  a 
Dav  of  Brahma,  4.320,000,000  Solar  years — and  to  the  reign  of  one  Manu 
—308,448,000.  (See  Vol.  II.  of  the  Secret  Doctrine,  p.  68  rt.  seq.)  Lit.. 
Ma  )i  un  n  fora— bet  ween  !Manus. 

Maquom  (Chald.).  "A  secret  place"  in  the  phraseology  of  the 
Zohar,  a  concealed  spot,  whether  referring  to  a  sacred  shrine  in  a  temple, 
to  the  "Womb  of  the  World",  or  the  human  womb.    A  Kabbalistic  term. 


192  TIIEOSOPIIICAL 

Mara  lSh\).  Tlu*  jrod  of  Tcniptatioii,  tlio  Scchicrr  who  tried  to  turn 
away  BiuUllia  from  his  Path.  He  is  called  the  "Destroyer"  and 
■  Death"  (of  the  Soul).    One  of  the  names  of  Kama,  God  of  love. 

Marabut.  A  ilaliometan  j)il{irim  who  has  been  to  ]\Iekka,  a  saint. 
After  his  death  his  body  is  placed  in  an  open  sepulchre  built  above 
jjround.  like  other  buildings,  but  in  the  middle  of  tlie  streets  and  public 
places  of  populated  cities.  Placed  inside  the  small  and  only  room  of  the 
tomb  (and  several  sucii  public  sarcophagi  of  brick  and  mortar  may  be 
seen  to  this  day  in  the  streets  and  scpiares  of  Cairo),  the  devotion  of  the 
wayfarers  keeps  a  lamp  ever  burning  at  his  head.  The  tombs  of  some  of 
these  marabuts  are  very  famous  for  the  miracles  they  are  alleged  to 
perform. 

Marcionites.  An  ancient  Gnostic  Sect  founded  by  Marcion  who 
was  a  devout  Christian  as  long  as  no  dogma  of  human  creation  came  to 
mar  the  purely  transcendental,  and  metaphysical  concepts,  and  the 
original  beliefs  of  the  early  Christians.  Such  primitive  beliefs  were 
those  of  Marcion.  He  denied  the  historical  facts  (as  now  found  in  the 
Gospels)  of  Christ's  birth,  incarnation  and  passion,  and  also  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body  of  Jesus,  maintaining  that  sucli  statements  Avere  sim- 
ply tile  carnalization  of  metaphysical  allegories  and  symbolism,  and  a 
degradation  of  the  true  spiritual  idea.  Along  with  all  tlie  other  Gnostics, 
Marcion  accused  the  "Church  Fathers",  as  Irenaeus  himself  complains, 
of  "framing  their  (Christian)  doctrine  according  to  the  capacity  of 
their  hearers,  fabling  blind  things  for  the  blind,  according  to  their  blind- 
ness ;  for  the  dull,  according  to  their  dullness :  for  those  in  error,  accord- 
ing to  their  errors". 

Marg-a  (Sk.).  The  "Path",  The  Ashthanga  marga,  the  "holy"  or 
sacred  patli  is  the  one  that  leads  to  Nirvana.  The  eight-fold  path  has 
grown  out  of  the  seven-fold  path,  by  the  addition  of  the  (now)  first  of 
the  eight  Marga;  i.e.,  "the  possession  of  orthodox  views";  with  which  a 
real  Yogacharya  would  have  nothing  to  do. 

Marichi  (Sk.).  One  of  the  "mind-born"  sons  of  Brahma,  in  the 
Purdnas.  Brahmans  make  of  him  the  personified  light,  the  parent  of 
Surya,  the  Sun  and  the  direct  ancestor  of  Mahakasyapa.  The  Northern 
Buddhists  of  the  Yogacharya  School,  see  in  Marichi  Deva,  a  Bodhis- 
attva,  while  Chinese  Buddhists  (especially  the  Tauists),  have  made  of 
this  conception  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  the  goddess  of  light,  ruler  of  the 
sun  and  moon.  With  the  pious  but  illiterate  Buddhists,  her  magic 
formula  "Om  ]\larichi  svaha"  is  very  powerful.  Speaking  of  Marichi, 
Eitel  mentions  "Georgi,  who  explains  the  name  as  a  'Chinese  transcrip- 
tion of  the  name  of  the  holy  Virgin  Mary'  "(!!).  As  Marichi  is  the 
chief  of  the  Maruts  and  one  of  the  seven  primitive  Rishis,  the  sup- 
posed derivation  does  seem  a  little  far  fetched. 

Marisha  (Sk.).  The  daughter  of  the  Sage  Kanda  and  Pramlocha, 
the  Apsara-demon  from  Indra's  heaven.    She  was  the  mother  of  Daksha. 


GLOSSARY  193 

An  allegory  referring  to  the  jNIj'stery  of  the  Second  and  Third  human 
Races. 

Martinists.  A  Society  in  France,  founded  by  a  great  mystic 
called  the  :\larquis  de  St.  Martin,  disciple  of  :Martinez  Pasqualis.  It  was 
first  establislied  at  Lyons  as  a  kind  of  occult  ^Masonic  Society,  its  mem- 
bers believing  in  the  possibility  of  communicating  witii  Planetary  Spirits 
and  minor  Gods  and  genii  of  the  ultramundane  Spheres.  Louis  Claude 
de  St.  Martin,  born  in  1743,  had  commenced  life  as  a  brilliant  officer  in 
the  army,  but  left  it  to  devote  himself  to  study  and  the  belles  lettres, 
•  ■nding  his  career  by  becoming  an  ardent  Theosophist  and  a  disciple  of 
Jacob  Boehmen.  He  tried  to  bring  back  Masonry  to  its  primeval  char- 
acter of  Occultism  and  Theurgy,  but  failed.  He  first  made  his  "Recti- 
fied Rite ' '  to  consist  of  ten  degrees,  but  these  were  brought  down  owing 
to  the  study  of  the  original  Masonic  orders — to  seven.  Masons  complain 
that  he  introduced  certain  ideas  and  adopted  rites  "at  variance  with 
the  archaeological  history  of  Masonry";  but  so  did  Cagliostro  and  St. 
Germain  before  him,  as  all  those  who  knew  well  the  origin  of  Free- 
masonry. 

Marttanda  (Sk.).    The  Vedic  name  of  the  Sun. 

Marut  Jivas  fSk.).  The  monads  of  Adepts  who  have  attained  the 
final  liberation,  but  prefer  to  re-incarnate  on  earth  for  the  sake  of  Hu- 
manity. Not  to  be  confused,  however,  with  the  Nirmdnakdyas,  wlio  are 
far  higher. 

Maruts  (Sk.).  AVith  the  Orientalists  Storm-Gods,  but  in  the  Veda 
something  very  mystical.  In  the  esoteric  teachings  as  they  incarnate  in 
every  round,  they  are  simply  identical  with  some  of  the  Agnishwatta 
Pitris,  the  Human  intelligent  Egos.  Hence  the  allegory  of  Siva  trans- 
forming the  lumps  of  flesh  into  hoys,  and  calling  them  ]Maruts,  to  show 
senseless  men  transformed  by  becoming  the  Vehicles  of  the  Pitris  or 
Fire  ^Maruts,  and  thus  rational  beings. 

Masben  .'.  (Chalet.).  A  Masonic  term  meaning  "the  Sun  in  putre- 
faction." Has  a  direct  reference — perhaps  forgotten  by  the  .Masons — to 
tlieir  "Word  at  Low  Breath". 

Mash-Mak.  By  tradition  an  Atlaiitean  word  of  the  fourth  Race,  to 
denote  a  mysterious  Cosmic  fire,  or  rather  Force,  which  was  said  to  be 
ahle  to  pulverize  in  a  second  whole  cities  and  disintegrate  the  world. 

Masorah  (Heh.).  The  name  is  especially  applied  to  a  collection  of 
notes,  explanatory,  grammatical  and  critical,  which  are  found  on  the 
margin  of  ancient  Hebrew  :\ISS.,  or  scrolls  of  the  Old  Testament.  The 
Masoretes  w(>re  also  called  Melchites. 

Masoretic  Points,  or  Vowels  (Heh.).  Or,  as  the  system  is  now 
called,  Masora  from  Massoreh  or  Massoreth,  "tradition",  and  Mdsar,  to 
"hand  down".  The  Rabbins  who  busied  themselves  with  the  Masorah, 
hence  called  ]\Iasorites,  were  also  the  inventors  of  the  ]\Iasoretic  points, 
which  are  supposed  to  give  the  vowelless  words  of  the  Scriptures  their 


194  TTIKckSOIMIICAI, 

true  j)r()mim-iati(>ii.  In  the  aiKliti(.»ii  ut  points  ivpivst'iitint;  vowels  to 
the  consonants.  This  was  the  invi-ntion  of  tlic  U-arncd  and  cnnning 
Rabbins  of  tho  School  of  Tiberias  (in  the  ninth  century  of  our  era),  who. 
by  doinpf  so,  liave  put  an  entirely  ni'W  construction  on  the  chirf  words 
and  names  in  the  Books  of  Closes,  and  made  thereby  confusion  still  mon- 
confounded.  The  truth  is,  thai  this  scheme  has  only  added  additional 
blinds  to  tliose  already  existiiifr  in  the  VcnUiti  urh  and  other  works. 

Mastaba  (Eij.}.  The  upper  ]torti(in  of  ;iri  i^^^yptiaii  toiid»,  whieli 
.^ay  the  Kjryptolo'rists,  consisted  always  of  three  parts:  namely  (1)  the 
MiistalKi  or  menKU'ial  chapel  alK)ve  jrround,  (2)  a  I'it  from  twenty  to 
ninety  feet  in  dejith.  which  led  by  a  pas.sajre,  to  (3)  the  Burial  Chnmhcr, 
where  .stood  the  Surcophagus,  eontainiuK  the  mummy  sleeping:  its  sleep 
of  lonpr  afTcs.  Once  the  latter  interred,  the  pit  was  filled  up  and  the 
entrance  to  it  concealed.  Thus  say  the  Orientalists,  who  divide  the  last 
restinpr  jdace  of  the  mummy  on  almost  the  «ime  principles  as  theolofrians 
do  man — into  body,  soul,  and  spirit  or  mind.  The  fact  is,  that  these 
tombs  of  the  ancients  were  syml^olical  like  tlie  rest  of  their  sacred 
edifices,  and  that  this  symbolofry  points  directly  to  the  septenary  division 
of  man.  But  in  death  the  order  i.s  reversed ;  and  while  the  Mastaha  with 
its  scenes  of  daily  life  painted  on  the  walls,  its  table  of  offerings,  to  the 
Larva,  the  ffJiost,  or  "Lingra  Sarira",  was  a  memorial  raised  to  the  two 
Principles  and  Life  Avhich  had  quitted  tliat  which  was  a  lower  irio  on 
earth ;  the  Pit,  the  Passajre,  the  Burial  Chambers  and  the  mummy  in  the 
Sarcophafjus,  were  the  ob.iective  symbols  raised  to  the  two  perishable 
"principles",  the  personal  mind  and  Kama,  and  the  three  imperishable, 
the  higher  Triad,  now  merfred  into  one.  This  "One"  was  the  Spirit  of 
the  Blessed  now  restin<r  in  the  IIai)py  Circle  of  Aanroo. 

Matari  Svan  ("Sk.).  An  aerial  being  shown  in  Rig-Veda  bringing 
down  a;jni  or  fire  to  the  Bhrigus;  who  are  called  "The  Consumers",  and 
are  described  by  the  Orientalists  as  "a  class  of  mythical  beings  who  be- 
longed to  the  middle  or  aerial  class  of  gods".  In  Occultism  the  Bhrigus 
are  simply  the  "Salamanders"  of  the  Rosierucians  and  Kabalists. 

Materializations.  In  Spiritualism  the  word  signifies  the  objective 
api)earance  of  the  so-called  "Spirits"  of  the  dead,  who  reclothe 
themselves  occasionally  in  matter ;  i.e.,  they  form  for  themselves  out  of 
the  materials  at  hand,  which  are  found  in  the  atmosj^here  and  the  ema- 
nations of  those  present,  a  temporary  body  bearing  tlie  human  likeness 
of  the  defunct  as  he  appeared,  when  alive.  Theosophists  accept  the 
phenomenon  of  "materialization";  but  they  reject  the  theory  that  it  is 
produced  by  "Spirits",  i.e.,  the  immortal  principles  of  the  disembodied 
per.sons.  Theosophists  hold  that  when  the  phnomenon  is  genuine — and  it 
is  a  fact  of  rarer  occurence  than  is  generally  believed — it  is  jiroduced  by 
the  larva,  the  eicJola  or  Kamalokic  "ghosts"  of  the  dead  ])orsonalities. 
(See  "Kamadhatu",  "Kamaloka"  and  "Karaarupa").  As  Karaaloka  is 
on  the  earth  plane  and  dilTers  from  its  degree  of  materiality  only  in  the 


GLOSSARY  195 

degree  of  its  plane  of  consciousness,  for  which  reason  it  is  concealed 
from  our  normal  sight,  the  occasional  apparition  of  such  shells  is  as 
natural  as  that  of  electric  balls  and  other  atmospheric  phenomena. 
Electricity  as  a  fluid,  or  atomic  matter  (for  Theosophists  hold  with 
Maxwell  that  it  is  atomic),  though  invisible,  is  ever  present  in  the  air, 
and  manifests  under  various  shapes,  but  only  when  certain'  conditions 
are  there  to  "materialize"  the  fluid,  when  it  passes  from  its  own  on  to 
our  plane  and  makes  itself  objective.  Similarly  with  the  luhAa  of  the 
dead.  They  are  present,  around  us,  but  being  on  another  plane  do  not 
see  us  any  more  than  we  see  them.  But  whenever  the  strong  desires  of 
living  men  and  the  conditions  furnished  by  the  abnormal  constitutions 
of  mediums  are  combined  together,  these  cidola  are  drawn — nay,  pulled 
down  from  their  plane  on  to  ours  and  made  objective.  This  is  necro- 
tnanc}) ;  it  does  no  good  to  the  dead,  and  great  harm  to  the  living,  in 
addition  to  the  fact  that  it  interferes*  with  a  law  of  nature.  The  oc- 
casional materialization  of  the  "astral  bodies"  or  doubles  of  living  per- 
sons is  quite  another  matter.  These  "astrals"  are  often  mistaken  for  the 
apparitions  of  the  dead,  since,  chameleon-like,  our  own  "Elementaries", 
along  with  those  of  the  disembodied  and  cosmic  Elementals,  will  often 
assume  the  appearance  of  those  images  which  are  strongest  in  our 
thoughts.  In  short,  at  the  so-called  "materialization"  seances  it  is  those 
present  and  the  medium,  who  create  the  peculiar  likeness  of  the  appari- 
tions. Independent  "apparitions"  belong  to  another  kind  of  psychic 
phenomena.  Materializations  are  also  called  "form-manifestations" 
and  "portrait  statues".  To  call  them  materialized  spirits  is  inadmissi- 
ble, for  they  are  not  spirits  but  animated  portrait-statues,  indeed. 

Mathadhipatis  (Sk.).  Heads  of  various  religions  Brotherhoods 
in  India,  High  Priests  in  Monasteries. 

Matra  (Sit.).  The  shortest  period  of  time  as  ap{)lied  to  the  duration 
of  sounds,  equal  to  the  twinkling  of  the  eye. 

Matra  .fSk.).     The  quantity  of  a  Sanskrit  Syllable. 

Matripadma   (Sk.).     Tlie  mother-lotus;  tlie  womb  of  Nature. 

Matris  (Sk.).  "Mothers",  the  divine  mothers.  Their  number  is 
seven.     They  are  the  female  aspects  and  powers  of  the  gods. 

Matronethah  (Ileb.  Kah.).  Identical  with  Mahuth,  the  tenth 
Sephira.    Lit.,  Matrona  is  the  "inferior  mother". 

Matsya  (Sk.).  "A  fish".  Mafsi/a  avatar  was  one  of  the  earliest 
incarnations  of  Vishnu. 

Matsya  Purana  (Sk.).  The  Scripture  or  Parana  whieh  treats  of 
that  incarnation. 

Maya  (Sk.).  Illusion;  the  cosmic  powi-r  wliieii  rend(>rs  i)lienomenal 
existence  and  the  perceptions  thereof  possible.  In  Hindu  philosophy 
that  alone   wliich   is  changidess  and   eternal    is   called   realitj/:  all   that 


196  'I'llKosol'lllcAI, 

whifli  is  subject  to  cliange  through  decay  and  differentiation  and  which 
Jias  tlicrefore  a  beginning;  and  an  end  is  refjarded  as  niaifd — illusion. 

Maya  Moha  (Sk.).  An  illusive  form  assumed  by  Vishnu  in  order 
to  deceive  ascetic  Daityas  who  were  becoming:  too  holy  throujxh  austerities 
and  hence  too  danfjerous  in  power,  as  saj'S  the  Vishnu  Purdiia. 

Mayavi  Rupa  (Sk.).  "Illusive  form";  the  "double"  in  vsoteric 
pliilosopliy  ;  diipprlgangcr  or  'pcrisprit,  in  German  aiid  French. 

Mayavic  Upadhi  (Sk.).  Tlir  coverinj;:  of  illusion,  phenomenal 
apjiearanci'. 

Mazdeans.  From  (Ahura)  .Mazda.  (See  S|)ii'<icrs  Ya.^iia,  xl). 
They  were  the  ancient  Persian  nobles  who  worshipped  Ormazd,  and,  re- 
jecting: imag:es,  inspired  the  Jews  with  the  same  horror  for  every  con- 
crete representation  of  the  Deity.  They  seem  in  Herodotus'  time  to  have 
been  superseded  by  the  ^lajrian' relij^ionists.  The  Parsis  and  Gebers. 
{gchcrim,  minhty  men,  of  Genesis  vi.  and  x.  8)  appear  to  be  jMagiau 
religionists. 

Mazdiasnian.     Zoroastrian,  lit.,  "worshipping  god". 

M'bul  (JI(h.).  The  "waters  of  the  flood".  Esoterically,  the  period- 
ical outpourings  of  astral  impurities  on  the  earth;  periods  of  psychic 
crimes  and  iniquities,  or  of  regular  moral  cataclysms. 

Medini  (Sk.).  The  earth;  so-called  from  the  marrow  (mrdas)  of 
two  demons.  These  monsters  springing  from  the  ear  of  the  sleeping 
Vishnu,  were  preparing  to  kill  Brahma  who  was  lying  on  the  lotus  which 
grow's  from  Vishnu's  navel,  when  the  god  of  Preservation  awoke  and 
killed  them.  Their  bodies  being  thrown  into  the  sea  produced  such  a 
quantity  of  fat  and  marrow  that  Narayana  used  it  to  form  the  earth 
witii. 

Megacosm  (Gr.).  The  world  of  the  Astral  light,  or  as  explained 
by  a  })uzzled  Mason  "a  great  world,  not  identical  with  Macrocosm,  the 
Universe,  but  something  between  it  and  Microcosm,  the  little  world"  or 
man. 

Mehen  (Eg.).  In  popular  myths,  the  great  serpent  wliich  repre- 
sents the  lower  atmosphere.  In  Occultism,  the  world  of  the  Astral  light, 
called  symbolically  the  Cosmic  Dragon  and  the  Serpent.  (See  the 
works  of  Eliphaz  Levi,  who  called  this  light  le  Serpent  du  Mai,  and  by 
other  names,  attributing  to  it  all  the  evil  infiences  on  the  earth). 

Melekh  (Heh.).  Lit.,  "a  King".  A  title  of  the  Sephira  Tiphereth, 
the  V,  or  vau  in  the  tetragrammaton — the  son  or  Microprosfopus  (the 
Lesser  Face). 

Melhas  (Sk.).    A  class  of  fire-gods  or  Salamanders. 

Memrab  (Hch.).  Li  the  Kabala,  "the  voice  of  the  will"  i.e.,  the 
collective  forces  of  nature  in  activity,  called  the  "Word",  or  Logos,  by 
the  Jewish  Kabbalists. 


GLOSSARY  197 

Mendaeans  (Gr.).  Also  called  Sabidns,  and  St.  John  Christians. 
The  latter  is  absurd,  since,  according  to  all  accounts,  and  even  their  own, 
they  have  nothing  at  all  to  do  with  Christianity,  which  they  abominate. 
The  modern  sect  of  the  Mendaans  is  widely  scattered  over  Asia  Minor 
and  elsewhere,  and  is  rightly  believed  by  several  Orientalists  to  be  a 
direct  surviving  relic  of  the  Gnostics.  For  as  explained  in  the  Diction- 
naire  dcs  Apocrijphfs  by  the  Abbe  Migne  (art.  "Le  Code  Nazarean" 
vulgaireraent  appele  "Livrc  d'Adam"),  the  Meudaeans  (written  in 
French  Mandditcs,  which  name  they  pronounce  as  Mandai)  "properly 
signifies  science,  knowledge  or  Gnosis.  Thus  it  is  the  equivalent  of 
Gnostics"  (loc.  cit.  note  p.  3).  As  the  above  cited  work  shows,  although 
many  travellers  have  spoken  of  a  sect  whose  followers  are  variously 
named  Sabians,  St.  John's  Christians  and  Mendaans,  and  who  are 
scattered  around  Schat-Etarah  at  the  junction  of  the  Tigris  and  Euph- 
rates (princii)ally  at  Bassorah,  Hoveiza,  Korna,  etc.),  it  was  Norberg 
who  was  the  first  to  point  out  a  tribe  belonging  to  the  same  sect  estab- 
lished in  Syria.  And  they  are  the  most  interesting  of  all.  This  tribe, 
some  14,000  or  15,000  in  number,  lives  at  a  day's  march  east  of  ^Nlount 
Lebanon,  principally  at  Elmerkah,  (Lata-Kieh).  They  call  themselves 
indifferently  Xazaren(^s  and  Galileans,  as  they  originally  come  to  Syria 
from  Galilee.  They  claim  that  their  religion  is  the  same  as  that  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  and  that  it  has  not  changed  one  bit  since  his  day.  On 
festival  days  they  clothe  themselves  in  camel's  skins,  sleep  on  camel's 
skins,  and  eat  locusts  and  honey  as  did  their  "Father,  St.  John  the 
Baptist".  Yet  they  call  Jesus  Christ  an  impostor,  a  false  Messiah,  and 
Nebso  (or  the  planet  ]\Iercury  in  its  evil  side),  and  show  him  as  a  pro- 
duction of  the  Spirit  of  the  "seven  badly-disposed  stellars"  (or  planets). 
See  Codex  Nazarceus,  which  is  their  Scripture. 

Mendes  (Gr.).  The  name  of  the  demon-goat,  alleged  by  the  Church 
of  Rome  to  have  been  worshipped  by  the  Templars  and  other  ]\Iasons. 
But  this  goat  wasi  a  myth  created  by  the  evil  fancy  of  the  odium  thcol- 
ogicum.  There  never  was  such  a  creature,  nor  was  its  worship  known 
amoung  Templars  or  their  predecessors,  the  Gnostics.  The  god  of  Mendes, 
or  the  Greek  Mendesius,  a  name  given  to  Lower  Egypt  in  pre-Christian 
days,  was  the  ram-headed  god  Ammon,  the  living  and  lioly  spirit  of  Ba. 
the  life-giving  sun ;  and  this  led  certain  Greek  authors  into  the  error  of 
affirming  that  the  Egyptians  called  the  "goat"  (or  the  ra>H-headed  god) 
himself  Mendes.  Ammon  was  for  ages  the  chief  deity  of  Egypt,  the 
supreme  god;  Amoun-Ra  the  "hidden  god",  or  Ame7i  (the  concealed) 
the  Self -engendered  who  is  "his  own  father  and  his  own  son".  Esoteri- 
cally,  he  was  Pan,  the  god  of  nature  or  nature  personified,  and  probably 
the  cloven  foot  of  Pan  the  goaf-footed,  helped  to  produce  the  error  of 
this  god  being  a  goat.  As  Amnion's  shrine  was  at  Pa-bi-neh-tat,  "the 
dwelling  of  Tat  or  Spirit,  Lord  of  Tat"  (Bindedi  in  the  Assyrian  in- 
scriptions), the  Greeks  first  corrupted  the  name  into  Bendes  and  then 


198  THEOSOPIIR'AL 

into  Mnuhs  from  "MtMulcsius".     Tlu'  "error"  sorvrd  eoclt'siastical  pur 
I>os(s  tdo  well  to  be  inade  away  with,  even  when  recognized. 

Mensambulism  (Lat.).  A  word  coined  by  some  Frencli  Kabbalists 
to  ilitidte  the  phi'iiomenoii  «if  "tal)h'  turninj;*'  from  the  Tiatiii  nu  nsa, 
a  tahh>. 

Meracha  phath  (Ilih.).  Used  of  the  "breathing"  of  the  divine 
Sjtirit  when  in  the  act  of  hovering  over  the  waters  of  space  before  crea- 
tion, (See  Siphra  Dziniutha). 

Mercavah  or  Mn-cnhah  (Ilth.).  A  chariot:  the  Kal)alists  say 
tliat  tlie  ^Supreme  after  he  had  established  the  Ten  Sepliiroth  used  them 
as  a  chariot  or  throne  of  jrlory  on  whieh  to  descend  uixtii  the  souls  of 
men. 

Merodach  (Chahl.)  God  of  liabylon.  the  P>el  of  later  times.  He 
is  the  son  of  Davkina,  <;oddess  of  the  lower  re<;ions,  or  tiie  earth,  and  of 
Ilea,  God  of  the  Seas  and  Hades  with  the  Orientalists ;  but  esoterically 
and  with  the  Akkadians,  the  Great  God  of  Wisdom,  "he  who  resurrects 
tlie  dead".     Hea,  Ea,  Dragon  or  Cannes  and  Merodach  are  one. 

Meru  (Sk.).  The  name  of  an  alleged  mountain  in  the  center  (or 
"naval'')  of  the  earth  where  Swarga,  the  Olympus  of  the  Indians  is 
placed.  It  contains  the  "cities"  of  the  greatest  gods  and  the  abodes 
of  various  Devas.  Geographically  accepted,  it  is  an  unknown  mountain 
north  of  the  Himalayas.  In  tradition,  Meru  was  the  "Land  of  Bliss" 
of  the  earliest  Vedic  times.  It  is  also  referred  to  as  Hemddri  "the  golden 
mountain",  Ratnasanu,  "jewel  peak",  Karnikdchala,  "lotus  mountain", 
and  Amarddri  and  Dcva-parvata,  "the  mountain  of  the  gods".  The 
Occult  teachings  place  it  in  the  very  center  of  the  North  Pole,  pointing 
it  out  as  the  site  of  the  first  continent  on  our  earth,  after  the  solidification 
of  the  globe. 

Meshia  and  Mcshianc  (Zend).  The  Adam  and  Eve  of  the  Zoroas- 
triaiis.  in  the  early  Persian  sysitem;  the  first  human  couple. 

Mesmer,  Frudrich  Anton.  The  famous  physician  who  rediscovered 
and  a]>i)lied  practically  that  magnetic  fluid  in  man  which  was  called 
animal  magnetism  and  since  then  Mesmerism.  He  was  born  in  Sehwaben, 
in  1734,  and  died  in  1815.  He  was  an  initiated  member  of  the  Brother- 
hoods of  the  Fratrcs  Lucis  and  of  Lukshoor  (or  Luxor),  or  the  Egyptian 
Branch  of  the  latter.  It  was  tlie  Council  of  "Luxor"  which  selected 
him — according  to  the  orders  of  the  "Great  Brotherhood" — to  act  in 
the  XVIIIth  century  as  their  usual  pioneer,  sent  in  the  last  quarter  of 
every  century  to  enlighten  a  small  portion  of  the  Western  nations  in 
occult  lore.  It  was  St.  Germain  who  supervised  the  development  of 
events  in  this  case ;  and  later  Cagliostro  was  comniiss^ioned  to  help,  but 
having  made  a  series  of  mistakes,  more  or  less  fatal,  he  was  n  caUcd.  Of 
these  three  men  who  were  at  first  regarded  as  quacks,  Mesimer  is  already 
vindicated.  The  justification  of  the  two  others  will  follow  in  the  next 
century.    Mesmer  founded  the  "Order  of  Universal  Harmony"  in  1783, 


GLOSSARY  199 

ill  which  prL'suiuably  only  animal  magnetism  was  tauy:lit.  but  which  iu 
reality  expounded  the  tenets  of  Hippocrates,  the  methods  of  the  ancient 
Asclrpicia.  tlie  Temples  of  Healing,  and  many  other  occult  sciences. 

Metatron  illch.).  The  Kabbalistic  "Prince  of  Faces",  the  In- 
tellif^ence  of  the  First  Sephira,  and  the  reputed  ruler  of  Moses.  His 
numeration  is  314,  the  same  as  the  deity  title  "Shaddai",  Almighty.  He 
is  also  the  Angel  of  the  world  of  Briah,  and  lie  who  conducted  tlie  Israel- 
ites through  the  Wilderness,  hence,  the  same  as  "the  Lord  God'"  Jeho- 
vah. The  name  resembles  the  Greek  words  metathronon  or  "beside  the 
Throne'",    fw.w.w.] 

Metempsychosis.  The  progi-ess  of  the  soul  from  one  stage  of  ex- 
istence to  another.  Symbolized  as  and  vulgarly  believed  to  be  rebirths 
in  animal  bodies.  A  term  generally  misunderstood  by  every  class  of 
European  and  American  society,  including  many  scientists.  Metem- 
psychosis should  apply  to  animals  alone.  The  kabalistic  axiom,  "A 
stone  becomes  a  plant,  a  plant  an  animal,  an  animal  a  man,  a  man  a 
spirit,  and  a  spirit  a  god'',  receives  an  explanation  in  ^lanu's  Mnnava- 
DharmaShastra   and   other   Brahmanieal   books. 

Metis  (Gr.).  Wisdom.  The  Greek  theology  associated  Metis 
Divine  Wisdom,  with  Eros — Divine  Love.  The  word  is  also  said  to 
form  part  of  the  Templars'  deity  or  idol  Baphomet,  which  some  authori- 
ties derive  from  Baphc,  baptism,  and  Metis,  wisdom ;  while  others  say 
tiiat  the  idol  represented  the  two  teachers  whom  the  Templars  equally 
denied,  viz.,  Papa  or  the  Pope,  and  Mahomet,    [w.w.w.] 

Midgard  (Scand.).  The  great  snake  in  tlie  Eddas  which  gnaws  the 
roots  of  the  Yggdrasil — the  Tree  of  Life  and  the  Universe  in  the  legend 
of  the  Norsemen.    Midgard  is  the  ]\Iundane  Snake  of  Evil. 

Midrashim  (Hch.).  "Ancient"" — the  same  as  Purdna;  the  ancient 
writings  of  the  Jews  as  the  Purdnas  are  called  the  "Ancient"  (Scrip- 
tures) of  India. 

Migmar  (Tib.).     The  planet  Mars. 

Mimansa  (Sk.).  A  school  of  philosophy;  one  of  the  six  in  India. 
There  are  two  ]\Iimansa,  the  older  and  the  younger.  The  first,  the 
"Purva-Mimansa",  was  founded  by  Jamini,  and  the  latter  or  "Uttara- 
Mimansa",  by  a  Vyasa — and  is  now  called  the  Vedanta  school.  Sanka- 
racharya  was  the  most  prominent  ai)ostle  of  the  latter.  The  Vedanta 
school  is  the  oldest  of  all  the  six  Darshana  {lit.,  "demonstrations"),  but 
even  to  the  Purva-]\Iimansa  no  higher  antiquity  is  allowed  than  500  B.C. 
Orientalists  in  favor  of  the  absiirb  idea  that  all  these  schools  are  "due 
to  Greek  influence",  in  order  to  have  them  fit  their  theory  would  make 
them  of  still  later  date.  The  Sh(id-d<irshana  (or  Six  Demonstrations) 
have  all  a  stalling  point  in  common,  and  maintain  that  c.T  nihilo  nihil 
/it. 

Mimir  (Scand.).  A  wise  giant  in  tiie  Eddas.  One  of  the  Jotuns  or 
Titans.     He  had  a  well   which  he  watched  over   (Mimir's  well),  which 


200  THEOSOPHICAL 

contained  the  waters  of  Primeval  Wisdom,  by  drinking  of  whidi  Odin 
a('(iuired  the  knowledge  of  all  past,  prest-nt,  and  future  events. 

Minas  (Sk.).  Tlie  same  as  Mcciiam.  the  Zodiacal  sign  risccs  or 
Fishes. 

Minos  (Gr.).    Tiie  great  Judge  in  Iladcs.    An  ancient  King  of  Crete. 

Miolner  (Scand.).  'V\w  stonn-hammcr  of  Thor  (See  "Svastica") 
made  for  him  hy  the  l)\vai-fs;  witli  it  the  God  conquered  men  and  gods 
alike.  The  same  kind  of  magic  weapon  as  tlie  Hindu  Agnojasira,  the 
fire- weapon. 

Mirror.  The  Luminous  IMirror,  Aspnqularia  n<ra,  a  Kabbalistic 
term,  means  the  power  of  foresight  and  farsight,  prophecy  such  as  Moses 
had.  Ordinary  mortals  have  only  the  Aspaqularia  dclla  ncra  or  Non 
Luminousi  ^Mirror,  tiiey  see  only  in  a  glass  darkly:  a  parallel  symbolism 
is  that  of  the  conception  of  the  Tree  of  Life,  and  that  only  of  the  Tree 
of  Knowledge,     [w.w.w.] 

Mishnah  (ILh.).  The  older  portion  of  the  Jewish  Talmud,  or  oral 
law,  consisting  of  supplementary  regulations  for  the  guidance  of  the 
Jews  with  an  ample  commentary.  The  contents  are  arranged  in  six 
sections,  treating  of  Seeds,  Feasts,  Women,  Damages,  Sacred  Things  and 
Purification.  Rabbi  Judah  Huanasee  codified  tlie  ]Mishnah  about  a.d. 
140.     [w.w.w.] 

Mistletoe.  This  curious  plant,  which  grows  only  as  a  parasite 
upon  other  trees,  such  as  the  apple  and  the  oak,  was  a  mystic  plant  in 
several  ancient  religions,  notably  that  of  the  Celtic  Druids:  their  priests 
cut  the  Mistletoe  with  much  ceremony  at  certain  seasons,  and  then  only 
with  a  specially  consecrated  golden  knife.  Hislop  suggests  as  a  religious 
explanation  that  the  Mistletoe  being  a  Branch  growing  out  of  a  Mother 
tree  was  worshipped  as  a  Divine  Branch  out  of  an  Earthly  Tree,  the 
union  of  deity  and  humanity.  The  name  in  German  means  "all  heal". 
Compare  the  Golden  Branch  in  Virgil 's  ^neid,  vi.  126 :  and  Pliny,  Hist. 
Nat.,  xvii.  44.  ''Sacerdos  Candida  vesta  cultus  arhoreni  scandit,  falce 
aurra  dcmrtit".    [w.w.w.] 

Mitra  or  Mithra.  (Pers.).  An  ancient  Iranian  deity,  a  sun-god,  as 
evidenced  by  his  being  lion-headed.  The  name  exists  also  in  India  and 
means  a  form  of  the  sun.  The  Persian  Mithra,  he  who  drove  out  of 
heaven  Ahriman,  is  a  kind  of  Messiah  who  is  expected  to  return  as  the 
judge  of  men,  and  is  a  sin-hearing  god  who  atones  for  the  iniquities  of 
mankind.  As  such,  however,  he  is  directly  connected  with  the  highest 
Occultism,  the  tenets  of  which  were  expounded  during  the  ]\Iithraie 
^Mysteries  which  thus  bore  his  name. 

Mitre.  The  head-dress  of  a  religious  dignitary,  as  of  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic Bisliop:  a  cap  ending  upwards  in  two  lips,  like  a  fish's  liead  with 
op(.'n  mouth — os  tincce — associated  with  Dagon,  the  Babylonian  deity, 
the  word  dag  meaning  fish.  Curiously  enough  the  os  uteri  lias  been 
so  called  in  the  human  female  and  the  fish  is  related  to  the  goddess 


GLOSSARY  201 

Aphrodite  who  sprang  from  the  sea.  It  is  curious  also  that  the  ancient 
Chaldee  legends  speak  of  a  religious  teacher  coming  to  them  springing 
out  of  the  sea,  named  Oannes  and  Annedotus,  half  fish,  half  man. 
[w.w.w.] 

Mizraim  (Eg.).  Tlie  name  of  Egypt  in  very  ancient  times.  This 
name  is  now  connected  witli  Freemasonry.  See  the  rite  of  ]\Iizraim  and 
the  rite  of  Memphis  in  ^Masonic  Cyclopedias. 

Mlechchhas  (Sk.).  Outcasts.  The  name  given  to  all  foreigners,, 
and  tliosi'  who  are  non-Aryas. 

Mnevis  (Eg.).  The  bull  Muevis,  the  Son  of  Ptah,  and  the  symbol 
of  the  Sun-god  Ra,  as  Apis  was  supposed  to  be  Osiris  in  the  sacred  bull- 
form.  His  abode  was  at  Heliopolis,  the  City  of  the  Sun.  He  was  black 
and  carried  on  his  horns  the  sacred  uraeus  and  disk. 

Mobeds  (Zend).     Parsi,  or  Zoroastrian  priests. 

Moira  (Gr.).  The  same  as  the  Latin  Fatum — fate,  destiny,  the 
power  wliich  rules  over  the  actions,  sufferings,  the  life  and  struggles  of 
men.    P)Ut  this  is  not  Karma;  it  is  only  one  of  its  agent-forces. 

Moksha  (Sk.).  "Liberation".  The  same  as  Nirvana;  a  post-mortem 
state  of  rest  and  bliss  of  the  "Soul-Pilgrim". 

Monad  (Gr.).  The  Unity,  the  one;  but  in  Occultism  it  oftt-n  means 
the  unifit'd  triad,  Atma-Buddhi-]Manas,  or  the  duad,  Atma-Buddhi,  that 
immortal  part  of  man  which  reincarnates  in  the  lower  kingdoms,  and 
gradually  progresses  through  them  to  Man  and  then  to  the  final  goal — 
Nirvana. 

Monas  (Gr.).  The  same  as  the  term  Monad;  "Alone",  a  unit.  In 
tile  Pythagorean  system  the  duad  emanates  from  the  higher  and  solitary 
Monas,  which  is  thus  the  "First  Cause". 

Monogenes  (Gr.).  Lit.,  "the  only-begotten";  a  name  of  Proser- 
pine and  other  gods  and  goddesses. 

Moon.  The  earth's  satellite  has  figured  very  largely  as  an  emblem  in 
the  religions  of  antiquity ;  and  most  commonly  has  been  represented  as 
Female,  but  this  is  not  universal,  for  in  the  myths  of  the  Teutons  and 
Arabs,  as  well  as  in  the  conception  of  the  Rajpoots  of  India  (see  Tod, 
Hist.),  and  in  Tartary  the  moon  was  male.  Latin  authors  speak  of 
Luna,  and  also  of  Lunus,  but  witli  extreme  rarity.  The  Greek  name  is 
Selene,  the  Hebrew  Lebanah  and  also  Yarcah.  In  Egypt  the  moon  was 
associated  with  Isis,  in  Phenicia  with  Astarte  and  in  Babylon  with 
Ishtar.  From  certain  points  of  view  the  ancients  regarded  the  moon 
also  as  Androgyne.  The  astrologers  allot  an  influence  to  the  moon  over 
the  several  parts  of  a  man,  according  to  the  several  Zodiacal  signs  she 
traverses;  as  well  as  a  special  influence  produced  by  the  house  she  occu- 
pies in  a  figure. 

The  division  of  the  Zodiac  into  28  mansions  of  the  moon  appears 
to  be  older  than  that  into  12  signs:  the  Copts,  Egyptians,  Arabs,  Per- 


202 


THEOSoririrAL 


sians  and  Hindoos  used  tlie  division  into  28  parts  centuries  ago,  and  the 
Cliinese  use  it  still. 

The  Ilermetists  said  the  moon  gave  man  an  astral  form,  while  Theos- 
ophy  teaches  that  the  Lunar  Pitris  were  the  creators  of  our  human 
l)odies  and  lower  principles.     (See  Secret  Doctrine  I.  386).  [w.w.w.] 

Moriah,  Mount.  The  site  of  King  Solomon's  first  temple  at  Jerusa- 
h-m  aeeording  to  tradition,  it  is  to  that  mount  that  Abraham  journeyed 
to  ott'er  Isaac  in  sacrifice. 

Morya  (Sh-.).  One  of  the  royal  Huddhist  houses  of  ^lagadha ;  to 
wliich  belonged  Chandragupta  and  Asoka  his  grandson;  also  the  name 
of  a  Rajpoot  tribe. 

Mot  (Phnn.).  The  same  as  ilus,  mud,  primordial  ehaos;  a  Avord  used 
in  the  Tyrrhenian  Cosmogony  (See  "Suidas"). 

Mout  or  Mooth  (Eg.).  The  mother  goddess;  primordial  goddesses, 
for  "all  the  gods  are  born  from  Mooth",  it  is  said.  Astronomically,  the 
moon. 

Mu  (Senzar).  Tlie  mystic  word  (or  rather  a  portion  of  it)  in 
Northern  Buddhism.  It  means  the  "destruction  of  temptation"'  during 
the  course  of  Yoga  practice. 

Mudra  (Sh.).  Called  the  mystic  seal.  A  system  of  occult  signs 
made  with  the  fingers.  These  signs  imitate  ancient  Sanskrit  characters 
of  magic  efficacy.  First  used  in  the  Northern  Buddhist  Yogacliarya 
School,  they  were  adopted  later  by  the  Hindu  Tantrikas,  but  often  mis- 
used by  them  for  'black  magic  purposes. 

Mukta  and  Mukti  (8k.).  Liberation  from  sentient  life;  one  beati- 
fied or  liberated ;  a  candidate  for  Moksha,  freedom  from  flesh  and  matter, 
or  life  on  this  earth. 

Mulaprakriti  (Sk.).  The  Parabrahmic  root,  the  abstract  deific 
feminine  i)rinciple — undifferentiated  substance.  Akasa.  Literally,  "the 
root  of  Nature"  (Prakriti)  or  Matter. 

Mulil  (Chald.).    A  name  of  the  Chaldean  Bel. 

Muluk-Taoos  (Arab.).  From  Maluh,  "Ruler",  a  later  form  of 
IMoloch,  Melek,  Malayak  and  Malachim,  "messengers",  angels.  It  is  the 
Deity  worshipped  by  the  Yczidis,  a  sect  in  Persia,  kindly  called  by 
Christian  theology  "devil  worshippers",  under  the  form  of  a  peacock. 
The  Lord  "Peacock"  is  not  Satan,  nor  is  it  the  devil;  for  it  is  simply 
the  symbol  of  the  hundred  eyed  Wisdom ;  the  bird  of  Saraswati,  goddess 
of  Wisdom;  of  Karttikeya  the  Kumdra,  the  Virgin  celebate  of  the  Mys- 
teries of  Juno,  and  all  the  gods  and  goddesses  connected  Avith  the  secret 
learning. 

Mummy.  The  name  for  human  bodies  embalmed  and  preserved 
according  to  the  ancient  Egyptian  method.  The  process  of  mummifica- 
tion is  a  rite  of  extreme  antiquity  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs,  and  was 
considered  as  one  of  the  most  sacred  ceremonies.     It  was,  moreover,  a 


GLOSSARY  203 

process  showing  considerable  learning  in  chemistry  and  surgery. 
Mummies  5,000  years  old  and  more,  reappear  among  us  as  preserved 
and  fresh  as  when  they  first  came  from  the  hands  of  the  Parashistes. 

Mumukshatwa  (8k.).  Desire  for  liberation  (from  reincarnation 
and  thraldom  of  matter). 

Mundakya  Upanishad  (SI-.).  Lit.,  the  "Mundaka  esoteric  doctrine", 
a  work  of  liigli  antiquity.  It  has  been  tran.slated  by  Raja  Rammohun 
Roy. 

Mundane  Ef/g  or  Tree,  or  any  other  such  sym])olical  object  in  the 
world  Mythologies.  3Icru  is  a  "Mundane  Mountain";  the  Bodhi  Tree, 
or  Ficus  religiosa,  is  the  Mundane  Tree  of  the  Buddhists;  just  as  the 
Yggdrasil  is  the  ''Mundane  Tree"  of  the  Scandinavians  or  Norsemen. 

Munis  (Sh.).     Saints,  or  Sages. 

Murari  (Sk.).  An  epithet  of  Krishna  or  Vishnu;  lit.,  the  enemy  of 
Mura — an  Asura. 

Murti  (Sk.).  A  form,  or  a  sign,  or  again  a  face,  e.g.,  "Trimurti", 
the  "three  Faces"  or  Images. 

Murttimat  (Sk.).  Something  inlierent  or  incarnate  in  something 
else  and  inseparable  from  it;  like  wetness  in  water,  which  is  coexistent 
and  coeval  with  it.    Used  of  some  attributes  of  Brahma  and  other  gods. 

Muspel  (Scand.).  A  giant  in  the  Edda,  the  Fire-god,  and  the 
father  of  the  Flames.  It  was  these  evil  sons  of  the  good  Muspel  who 
after  threatening  evil  in  Glowheim  (Muspelheim)  finally  gathered  into 
a  formidable  army,  and  fought  the  "Last  Battle"  on  the  field  of  "Wigred. 
Muspel  is  rendered  as  "\Yorld  (or  Mundane)  Fire".  The  conception 
Dark  Surtur  (black  smoke)  out  of  which  flash  tongues  of  flame,  connects 
Muspel  with  the  Hindu  Agni. 

Mutham  or  Mattam.  (Sk.).  Temples  in  India  with  cloisters  and 
monasteries  for  regular  ascetics  and  scholars. 

Myalba  (Tih.).  In  the  Esoteric  philosophy  of  Northern  Buddhism, 
the  name  of  our  Earth,  called  Hell  for  those  who  reincarnate  in  it  for 
punishment.    Exoterically,  Myalba  is  translated  a  Hell. 

Mystagogy  (Gr.).  The  doctrines  or  interpretations  of  the  sacred 
mysteries. 

Mysterium  Magnum  (Lat.).  "The  gi-eat  Mystery",  a  term  used  in 
Alchemv  in  connection  with  the  fabrication  of  the  "Philosopher's  Stone" 
and  the  "Elixir  of  Life". 

Mysteries.  Greek  telctai,  or  finishings,  celebrations  of  initiation 
or  the  ^lysteries.  They  were  observances,  generally  kept  secret  from  the 
profane  and  uninitiated,  in  which  were  taught  by  dramatic  representa- 
tion and  other  methods,  the  origin  of  things,  the  nature  of  the  human 
spirits,  its  relation  to  the  body,  and  the  method  of  its  purification  and 
restoration  to  higher  life.  Physical  science,  medicine,  the  laws  of  music, 
divination,  were  all  taught  in  the  same  manner.     The  Hippocratic  oath 


204  TIIEOSOrilK  AI- 

was  Imt  a  mystic  oblifjation.  Ilij^poerates  was  a  prii-st  of  Asklepois, 
sonit'  of  whose  writinjrs  cliancccl  to  Ix't'oinc  public.  But  tlic  Asklepiades 
wcri'  initiates  of  tlie  .liSt-ulapian  st'i-pi-nt-woi-ship.  as  the  liacfliantes  wore 
of  till'  Dion ysia ;  and  both  rites  were  eventually  ineorporateil  with  the 
Eleusinia.  The  Saered  Mysteries  were  enacted  in  the  ancient  Temples 
by  the  initiated  llierophants  for  the  benefit  and  instruction  of  the 
candidates.  The  most  solemn  an«l  occult  Mysteries  were  certainly  those 
which  were  performed  in  Kjryjit  by  "the  band  of  secret-keepers",  as 
yiv.  Honwiek  calls  the  llierophants.  Maurice  describes  their  nature 
very  jrrai)liically  in  a  few  lines.  Speakin*:^  of  the  Mysteries  performed 
in  Philaj  (the  Nile-island),  he  says  that  "it  was  in  these  {jloomy  caverns 
that  the  grand  and  mystic  arcana  of  the  groddess  (Tsis)  were  unfolded  to 
the  adoring  aspirant,  while  the  solemn  hymn  of  initiation  resounded 
through  the  long  extent  of  these  stony  recesses".  The  word  "mysteries" 
is  derived  from  the  Greek  vino,  "to  close  the  mouth",  and  every  .symbol 
connected  with  them  had  a  hidden  meaning.  As  Plato  and  many  other 
sages  of  antiquity  atlirm,  the  Mysteries  were  highly  religious,  moral 
and  beneficent  as  a  .school  of  ethics.  The  Grecian  mysteries,  those  of 
Ceres  and  Bacchus,  were  only  imitations  of  the  Egyptian ;  and  the 
author  of  Eijuptian  Belief  and  Modern  Thought,  informs  us  that  our  own 
"word  chapel  or  capclla  is  said  to  be  the  Caph-El  or  college  of  El,  the 
Solar  divinity".  The  well-known  Kabiri  are  associated  with  the 
^lysteries.  In  short,  the  Mysteries  were  in  every  country  a  series  of 
dramatic  performances,  in  w^hich  the  mysteries  of  cosmogony  and  nature, 
in  general,  were  personified  by  the  priests  and  neophj'tes,  who  enacted 
the  part  of  various  gods  and  goddesses,  repeating  supposed  scenes 
(allegories)  from  their  respective  lives.  These  were  explained  in  their 
hidden  meaning  to  the  candidates  for  initiation,  and  incorporated  into 
])hilosoj)Jiieal  doctrines. 

Mystery  Language.  The  sacerdotal  secret  jargon  emploj'cd  by  the 
initiated  ])riests,  and  used  only  when  discn.ssing  sacred  things.  Every 
nation  had  its  own  "mystery"  tongue,  unknown  save  to  those  admitted 
to  the  ]Mysteries. 

Mystes  (Or.).  In  antiquity,  the  name  of  the  Initiates;  now  that 
of  Roman  Cardinals,  who  having  borrowed  all  their  other  rites  and 
dogmas  from  Aryan,  Egyptian  and  Hellenic  "heathen",  liave  helped 
themselves  also  to  the  /^ivaig  of  the  neophytes.  They  have  to  keep  their 
eyes  anel  mouth  shut  on  their  consecration,  and  are,  therefore,  called 
Mysta. 

Mystica  Vannus  lacchi.  Coinnionly  translated  the  iiiy.stic  Fun; 
but  in  an  ancient  tei-ra-cotta  in  tiie  British  ^Museum  the  fan  is  a 
Basket  sucli  as  the  Ancients'  Mysteries  displayed  with  mystic  contents: 
Inman  says  with  enil)]ematic  testes,     [w.w.w.] 


GLOSSARY  205 


N. 


N. 


— The  14th  letter  in  both  the  Englisli  and  the  Hebrew  alphabets. 
In  the  latter  tongue  the  N  is  called  Nun,  and  signifies  a  fish.  It  is  the 
symbol  of  the  female  principle  or  the  womb.  Its  numerical  value  is  50 
in  the  Kabalistic  system,  but  the  Peripatetics  made  it  equivalent  to  900, 
and  with  a  stroke  over  it  (900)  9,000.  With  the  Ilebr^'ws,  however,  the 
final  Nun  was  700. 

Naaseni.  The  Christian  Gnostic  sect,  called  Naasenians,  or  .serpent 
worsliippcrs.  who  considered  the  constellation  of  the  Dragon  as  the 
symbol  of  tlioir  Logos  or  Christ. 

Nabatheans.  A  sect  almost  identical  in  tlieir  l)elit-fs  with  the 
Nazarenes  and  Sabeans,  who  had  more  reverence  for  John  the 
Baptist  than  for  Jesus.  Maimonides  identifies  them  with  the  astrolaters. 
.  .  .  "Respecting  the  beliefs  of  the  lSaheans'\  he  says,  "the  most 
famous  is  tlic  book.  The  agriculture  of  the  Nahatheans'\  And  we  know 
that  the  Ebionites,  the  first  of  whom  were  the  friends  and  relatives  of 
Jesus,  according  to  tradition,  in  other  words,  the  earliest  and  first 
Christians,  "were  the  direct  followers  and  disciples  of  the  Nazarene 
sect",  according  to  Epiphanius  and  Theodoret  (See  the  Contra  Ebionites 
of  Epiphanius,  and  also  "Galileans'"  and  "Nazarenes"'). 

Nabhi  (Sk.).  The  father  of  Bharata,  who  gave  his  name  to  BhCirata 
Varsha  (land)  or  India. 

Nabia  (Ileb.).  Seershij).  soothsaying.  This  oldest  and  most 
respected  of  mystic  phenomena  is  the  name  given  to  prophecy  in  the 
Bible,  and  is  correctly  included  among  the  spiritual  powers,  such  as 
divination,  clairvoyant  visions,  trance-conditions,  and  oracles.  But  while 
enchanters,  diviners,  and  even  astrologers  are  strictly  condemned  in  the 
Mosaic  books,  prophecy,  seership,  and  nabia  appear  as  the  special  gifts 
of  heaven.  In  early  ages  they  were  all  termed  Epoptai  (Seers),  the 
Greek  word  for  Initiates;  they  were  also  designated  Ncbim,  "the  plural 
of  Nebo.  the  Babylonian  god  of  wisdom."  The  Kabalist  distinguishes 
between  the  seer  and  the  magician;  one  is  passive,  the  other  active; 
Nebirah,  is  one  who  looks  into  futurity  and  a  clairvoyant ;  Ncbi-poel,  he 
who  possesses  nxigic  powers.  We  notice  that  Elijah  and  ApoUonius 
resorted  to  the  same  means  to  isolate  tliemselves  from  the  disturbing 
influences  of  tlie  outer  world,  viz.,  wrap[)ing  their  heads  entirely  in  a 
woollen  mantle,  from  its  being  an  electric  non-conductor  we  must 
suppose. 

Nabu    (ChalcL).      Nebu    or    Xelm,    generalh  ;    the    Clialdean    god    of 


206  THEOSOPHICAL 

Secret  Wisdom,  from  which  name  the  Biblical,  Ildin-w  term  yahiini 
(prophets)  was  derived.  This  son  of  Ann  and  Ishtar  was  worshipped 
chietly  at  Borsippa ;  but  he  had  also  his  teniplc  at  Bain  Ion.  above  that 
of  Bi'l,  devoted  to  the  seven  i)lanets.     (See  "Nazarenes'  and  "Nebo".) 

Naga  (Six.).  Literally  "Serpent '*.  The  name  in  the  Indian  Pan- 
theon of  the  Serpent  or  Drajjon  Spirits,  and  of  tiie  inhabitants  of  Patala, 
hell.  But  as  Patala  means  the  aniipodr.s,  and  was  the  name  griven  to 
America  by  the  ancients,  who  knew  and  visited  that  continent  before 
Europe  had  ever  heard  of  it,  the  terra  is  probably  akin  to  the  Mexican 
Nagals  the  (now)  sorcerers  and  medicine  men.  The  Napjas  are  the 
Burmese  Nats,  .serpent-gods,  or  "dragon  demons".  In  Esotericism. 
however,  and  as  already  stated,  this  is  a  niok-name  for  the  "wise  men" 
or  adepts.  In  Cliina  and  Tibet,  the  "Dragons"  are  regarded  as  the 
titulary  deities  of  the  world  and  of  various  spots  on  the  earth,  and  the 
word  is  explained  as  meaning  adepts,  yogis,  and  narjols.  The  term  has 
simply  reference  to  their  great  knowledge  and  wisdom.  This  is  also 
proven  in  the  ancient  Sutras  and  Buddha's  biographies.  The  Ndga  is 
ever  a  wise  man,  endowed  with  extraoi'dinary  magic  powers,  in  South 
and  Central  America  as  in  India,  in  Chaldea  as  also  in  ancient  Egypt. 
In  China  the  "worship"  of  the  Nagas  was  widespread,  and  it  has  become 
still  more  pronounced  since  Nagarjuna  (the  "great  Naga",  the  "great 
adept"  literally),  the  fourteenth  Buddhist  patriarch,  visited  China.  The 
"Nagas"  are  regarded  by  the  Celestials  as  "the  tutelary  Spirits  or 
gods  of  the  five  regions  or  the  four  points  of  the  compass  and  the  centre, 
as  the  guardians  of  the  five  lakes  and  four  oceans"  (Eitel).  This,  traced 
to  its  origin  and  translated  esoterically,  means  that  the  five  continents 
and  their  five  root-races  had  always  been  under  the  guardianship  of 
"terrestrial  deities",  i.e.,  Wise  Adepts.  The  tradition  that  Nagas 
washed  Gautama  Buddha  at  his  birth,  protected  him  and  guarded  the 
relics  of  his  body  when  dead,  points  again  to  the  Nagas  being  only  wise 
men,  Arhats,  and  no  monsters  or  Dragons.  This  is  also  corroborated 
by  the  innumerable  stories  of  the  conversion  of  Nagas  to  Buddhism. 
The  Naga  of  a  lake  in  a  forest  near  Rajagriha  and  many  other 
"Dragons"  were  thus  converted  by  Buddha  to  the  good  Law. 

Nagadwipa  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  island  of  the  Dragons";  one  of  the 
Seven  Divisions  of  Bharatavarsha,  or  modern  India,  according  to  the 
Purdnas.  No  proofs  remain  as  to  who  were  the  Nagas  (a  historical 
people  however),  the  favourite  theory  being  that  they  were  a  Scythic 
race.  But  there  is  no  proof  of  this.  When  the  Brahmans  invaded 
India  they  "found  a  race  of  ivise  men,  half-gods,  half-demons",  says  the 
legend,  men  who  were  the  teachers  of  other  races  and  became  likewise 
the  instructors  of  the  Hindus  and  the  Brahmans  themselves.  Nagpur  is 
justly  believed  to  be  the  surviving  relic  of  Nagadwipa.  Now  Nagpur  is- 
virtually  in  Rajputana,  near  Oodeypore,  Ajmere,  etc.  And  is  it  not  well 
known  that  there  was  a  time  when  Brahmans  went  to  learn  Secret  Wis- 


GLOSSAEV  207 

dom  from  the  Rajputs?    Moreover  a  tradition  states  that  ApoUonius  of 
Tyana  was  instructed  in  magic  by  the  Nagas  of  Kashmere. 

Nagal.  The  title  of  the  chief  Sorcerer  or  "medicine  man"  of  some 
tribes  of  Mexican  Indians.  These  keep  alwaj's  a  daimon  or  god,  in  the 
shape  of  a  serpent — and  sometimes  some  other  sacred  animal — who  is 
said  to  inspire  them. 

Nagarajas  (Sk.).  The  usual  name  given  to  all  the  supposed 
"guardian  Spirits"  of  lakes  and  rivers,  meaning  literally  "Dragon 
Kings."  All  of  these  are  shown  in  the  Buddhist  chronicles  as  having 
been  converted  to  the  Buddhist  monastic  life :  i.e.,  as  becoming  Arhats 
from  the  Yogis  that  they  were  before. 

Nagarjuna  (Sk.).  An  Arhat,  a  liermit  fa  native  of  Western 
India)  converted  to  Buddhism  by  Kapimala  and  the  fourteenth 
Patriarch,  and  now  regarded  as  a  Bodliisattva-Nirmanakaya.  He  was 
famous  for  his  dialectical  subtlety  in  metapliysical  arguments ;  and  was 
the  first  teaclier  of  the  Amitabla  doctrine  and  a  representative  of  the 
Mahayana  School.  Viewed  as  the  greatest  philosopher  of  the  Buddhists, 
he  was  referred  to  as  "one  of  the  four  suns  whicli  illumine  the  world". 
He  was  born  223  B.C.,  and  going  to  China  after  his  conversion  converted 
in  his  turn  the  whole  country  to  Buddhism. 

Nagkon  Wat  (Siam.).  Imposing  ruins  in  the  province  of 
Siamrap  (Eastern  Siam),  if  ruins  they  may  be  called.  An  abandoned 
edifice  of  most  gigantic  dimensions,  which,  together  witli  the  great  temple 
of  Angkortham,  are  the  best  preserved  relics  of  the  past  in  all  Asia. 
After  tile  Pyramids  this  is  the  most  occult  edifice  in  the  whole  world. 
Of  an  oblong  form,  it  is  796  feet  in  length  and  588  in  width,  entirely 
])uilt  of  stone,  the  roof  included,  but  without  cement  like  the  pyramids 
of  Ghizeh,  the  stones  fitting  so  closely  that  the  joints  are  even  now 
hardly  discernible.  It  has  a  central  pagoda  250  feet  in  height  from  the 
first  fioor,  and  four  smaller  pagodas  at  the  four  corners,  about  175  feet 
each.  In  the  words  of  a  traveller,  (The  Land  of  the  White  Elephant, 
Frank  Vincent,  p.  209)  :  "in  style  and  beauty  of  architecture,  solidity 
of  construction,  and  magnificent  and  elaborate  carving  and  sculpture, 
the  great  Nagkon  Wat  has  no  superior,  certainly  no  rival,  standing  at 
the  present  day."     (See  Isis  Unv.,  Vol.  1.  pp.  561-566.) 

Nahash  (Hch.).  "The  Deprived";  the  Evil  one  or  the  Serpent, 
according  to  the  Western  Kabbalists. 

Nahbkoon  (Eg.).  The  god  who  unites  the  "doubles,"  a  mystical 
term  referring  to  the  human  disembodied  "principles". 

Naimittika  (Sk.).  Occasional,  or  incidental  :  used  ot  one  of  the 
four  kinds  of  Pralayas  (See  "Pralaya"). 

Nain  (Scand.).    The  "Dwarf  of  Death". 

Najo  (Hind.).    Witch;  a  sorceress. 

Nakshatra  (Sk.).    Lunar  asterisms. 


208  THEOSOPHICAL 

Namah  (Sk.).  In  Pali  A' (//»«.  Tlu'  first  word  of  a  daily  invocation 
amonj;  Hiuldliists.  nu-aniii}?  *M  humbly  trust,  or  adore,  or  afknowlcdnrc'* 
the  Lord;  as:  "Namo  tasso  liha'ravato  Arahato"  etc..  addr»'sscd  to 
Lord  liuddha.  The  priests  are  called  "Masters  of  Nainah"" — both 
Buddhist  and  Taoist.  because  this  word  is  used  ip  liturgy  and  prayers, 
in  the  invocation  of  the  Trinil lui  (<j.i'.),  and  with  a  sli<;nt  chan<re  in  tiie 
occult   incantations  to  the  lioilhisrattras  and  yirni<'ui(ikaijas. 

Nanda  iSh-.).  One  of  the  Kin<irs  of  .Mairadha  (whose  dynasty  was 
iivii-t Ill-own  by  ("handra<rui)ta  q.v.). 

Nandi  (Sh-.J.    The  sacred  white  bull  of  Siva  and  liis  Vahun  (\'ehicle). 

Nanna  (Scaud.).  The  beautiful  bride  of  Baldur.  who  fouj^bt  with 
tlie  blind  Ilodur  ("he  who  rules  over  darkness")  and  received  bis  death 
from  the  latter  by  magic  art.  Baldur  is  the  personilication  of  Day. 
Hodur  of  Night,  and  the  lovely  Nanna  of  Dawn. 

Nannak  (ChahL),  also  Nanar  and  Sin.  A  name  of  the  moon;  said 
to  be  the  son  of  Mulil,  the  older  Bel  and  the  Sun,  in  the  later  mythology. 
In  tile  earliest,  the  ]Moon  is  far  older  than  the  Sun. 

Nara  (Sk.).    "Man",  the  original,  eternal  man. 

Nara  (Sk.).  The  waters  of  Space,  or  the  Great  Deej),  whence  the 
name  of  Narayana  or  Vishnu. 

Nara  Sinha  (Sk.).    Lit.,  "Man-lion";  an  Avatar  of  Vi.slinu. 

Narada  (Sk.).  One  of  the  Seven  great  Rishis.  a  Son  of  Brahma. 
This  "Progenitor"  is  one  of  the  most  mysterious  personages  in  the 
Brahmanical  sacred  symbology.  Esoterically  Narada  is  the  Ruler  of 
events  during  various  Karmic  cycles,  and  the  personification,  in  a  certain 
sense,  of  the  great  human  cycle ;  a  Dhyan  Chohan.  He  plays  a  great 
part  in  Brahmanism,  which  ascribes  to  him  some  of  the  most  occult 
hymns  in  the  liifj  Veda,  in  which  sacred  work  he  is  described  as  "of 
the  Kanwa  family".  He  is  called  Deva-Brahmti,  but  as  such  has  a 
distinct  character  from  the  one  he  assumes  on  earth — or  PatTUa.  Daksha 
cursed  him  for  his  interference  with  his  5,000  and  10,000  sons,  whom 
he  persuaded  to  remain  Yogins  and  celibates,  to  be  reborn  time  after 
time  on  this  earth  (Mahdbharata).  But  this  is  an  allegory.  He  was 
the  inventor  of  the  Vina,  a  kind  of  lute,  and  a  great  "lawgiver".  The 
story  is  too  long  to  be  given  here. 

Naraka  (Sk.).  In  the  popular  conception,  a  hell,  a  "prison  under 
earth".  The  hot  and  cold  hells,  each  eight  in  number,  are  simply 
emblems  of  the  globes  of  our  septenary  chain,  with  the  addition  of  the 
"eighth  sphere"  supposed  to  be  located  in  the  moon.  This  is  a  trans- 
parent blind,  as  these  "hells"  are  called  vivifying  hells  because,  as 
explained,  any  being  dying  in  one  is  immediately  born  in  the  second, 
then  in  the  third,  and  so  on;  life  lasting  in  each  500  years  (a  blind  on 
the  number  of  cycles  and  reincarnations).  As  these  hells  constitute  one 
of  the  six  gdti  (conditions  of  .sentient  existence),  and  as  people  are  said 


GLOSSARY  .  209 

to  be  reborn  in  one  or  the  other  according  to  their  Karmic  merits  or 
demerits,  tlie  hlind  becomes  self-evident.  Moreover,  these  Narakas  are 
rather  purgatories  tlian  liells,  since  release  from  each  is  possible  tlirough 
the  pnijjcrs  and  intcrcrssions  of  prksts  for  a  consideration,  just  as  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  Chureh,  whicii  seems  to  have  copied  the  Chinese  ritual- 
ism in  this  pretty  closely.  As  said  before,  esoteric  philosophy  traces 
every  hell  to  life  on  earth,  in  one  or  another  form  of  sentient  existence. 

Narayana  (Sk.).  The  "mover  on  the  "Waters"  of  space:  a  title  of 
Vishnu,  in  his  aspect  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  moving  on  the  Waters  of 
Creation.  (See  Mann,  Book  11.)  In  esoteric  symbology  it  stands  for 
the  primeval  manifestation  of  the  life-principle,  spreading  in  infinite 
Space. 

Nargal  (Chald.).  The  Chaldean  and  Assyrian  chiefs  of  the  Magi 
(Rah  Mag). 

Narjol  (Tib.).    A  Saint;  a  glorified  Adept. 

Naros  or  Neros  (Ileh.).  A  cycle,  which  the  Orientalists  describe  as 
consisting  of  600  years.  But  what  years?  There  were  three  kinds  of 
Neros:  the  greater,  the  middle  and  the  less.  It  is  the  latter  cycle  only 
which  was  of  600  years.     (See  "Neros".) 

Nastika  (Sk.).  Atheist,  or  rather  he  who  does  not  worship  or 
recognize  the  gods  and  idols. 

Nath  (Sk.).  A  Lord:  used  of  gods  and  men;  a  title  added  to  the 
first  name  of  men  and  things  as  Badrinath  (lord  of  mountains),  a 
famous  place  of  pilgrimage;  Gopinath  (lord  of  the  shepherdesses),  used 
of  Krishna. 

Nava  Nidhi  (Sk.).  Lit,.,  "the  nine  .l.wels"";  a  consummation  of 
spiritual  development,  in  mysticism, 

Nazar  (II<h.).  One  "set  apart";  a  temjjorary  monastic  class  of 
celibates  spoken  of  in  the  Old  Testament,  who  married  not,  nor  did  they 
use  wine  during  the  time  of  their  vow,  and  who  wore  their  hair  long, 
cutting  it  only  at  their  initiation.  Paul  must  have  belonged  to  this  class 
of  Initiates,  for  he  himself  tells  the  Galatians  (i.  15)  that  he  was 
separated  or  "set  apart"  from  the  moment  of  his  birth ;  and  that  he  had 
his  hair  cut  at  Cenchrea,  because  "he  had  a  vow"  (Acts  xviii.  IS),  i.e., 
had  been  initiated  as  a  Nazar;  after  which  he  became  a  "master-builder" 
(1  Corinth,  iii.  10).  Joseph  is  styled  a  Nazar  {Gen.  vlix.  26).  Samson 
and  Samuel  were  also  Nazars,  and  many  more. 

Nazarenes  (Hrh.).  The  same  as  the  St.  John  Christians:  called 
the  ]\Ienda^ans,  or  Sabeans.  Those  Nazarenes  who  left  Galilee  several 
hundred  years  ago  and  settled  in  Syria,  east  of  ]\Iount  Lebanon,  call 
themselves  also  Galileans;  though  they  designate  Christ  "a  false 
Messiah"  and  recognize  only  St.  Jolin  the  Baptist,  whom  they  call  the 
"Great  Nazar".  Tiie  Nabatheans  with  Vi'vy  litth'  difference  adhered 
to  the  same  belief  as  the  Nazarenes  or  the  Sabeans.    ^lore  than  this — the 


210  TIIEOSOnilCAI, 

Ebionites.  whom  Rcnaii  shows  as  miiiilHfiii«i:  anion^'  thi-ir  si'ct  all  tho 
surviving:  relatives  of  Jesus,  seem  to  liave  been  followers  of  tlie  same 
seet  if  we  have  to  believe  St.  Jcromt',  who  writes:  "I  received  permission 
from  the  Nazara^ans  who  at  Hi  ra'a  of  S\  i-ia  used  this  (Gospel  of  Matthew 
written  in  Hebrew)  to  traiishite  it.  .  .  .  The  Evangel  wliich  the 
Nazarenes  and  Ebionites  use  which  recently  1  translated  from  Hebrew 
into  Greek."  (Hieronymus'  Comment,  to  Matthew,  Book  II.,  chapter 
xii..  and  Hieronymus"  I)(  Viris  lUusf.  cap  3.)  Now  this  supposed 
Evangel  of  Matthew,  by  whomsoever  written,  "exhibited  matter",  as 
Jerome  complains  {loc.  cit.),  "not  for  edification  but  for  destruction" 
(of  Christianity).  But  the  fact  that  the  Ebionites,  the  genuine  primi- 
tive Christians,  "rejecting  the  rest  of  the  apostolic  writings,  made  use 
only  of  tliis  (Matthew's  Hebrew)  Gospel"  {Adv.  Hcer.,  i.  26)  is  very 
suggestive.  For,  as  Epiphanius  declares,  the  Ebionites  firmly  believed, 
with  the  Nazarenes,  that  Jesus  was  but  a  man  "of  the  seed  of  a  man" 
(Epiph.  Contra  Ebionites).  Moreover  we  know  from  the  Codex  of  the 
Nazarenes,  of  which  the  "Evangel  according  to  Matthew"  formed  a 
portion,  that  these  Gnostics,  whether  Galilean,  Nazarene  or  Gentile,  call 
Jesus,  in  their  hatred  of  astrolatry,  in  tlieir  Codex  Nahoo-Meschiha  or 
"Mercury".  (See  "Menda^ans").  This  does  not  shew  much  orthodox 
Christianity  either  in  the  Nazarenes  or  the  Ebionites ;  but  seems  to  prove 
on  the  contrary  that  the  Christianity  oi  the  early  centuries  and  modern 
Christian  theology  are  two  entirely  opposite  things. 

Nebban  or  Neibban  (Chin.).  The  same  as  Nirvana,  Nippang  in 
Tibet. 

Nebo  (Chald.).  The  same  as  the  Hindu  Budha,  son  of  Soma  the 
:\Iooii,  and  Mercury  the  planet.     (See  "Nabu".) 

Necromancy  (Gr.).  The  rising  of  the  images  of  the  dead,  con- 
sidered in  antiquity  and  by  modern  Occultists  as  a  practice  of  black 
magic.  lamblichus,  Porphyry  and  other  Theurgists  have  deprecated  the 
practice,  no  less  than  did  Moses,  who  condemned  the  "witches"  of  his 
day  to  death,  the  said  witches  being  only  Necromancers — as  in  the  case 
of  the  Witch  of  Endor  and  Samuel. 

Nehaschim  (Kal.).  "The  serpent's  works".  It  is  a  name  given 
to  the  Astral  Light,-  "the  great  deceiving  serpent"  (Maya),  during 
certain  practical  works  of  magic.     (See  Sec.  Doc.  II.  409.) 

Neilos  (Gr.).    The  river  Nile;  also  a  god. 

Neith  (Eg.).  N tithes.  The  Queen  of  Heaven;  the  moon-goddess 
in  Egypt.  She  is  variously  called  ]<iout,  Nepte,  Nur.  (For  symbolism, 
see  "Nout".) 

Neocoros  (Gr.).    With  the  Greeks  the  guardian  of  a  Temple. 

Neophyte  (Gr.).  A  novice;  a  postulant  or  candidate  for  the 
Mysteries.  The  methods  of  initiation  varied.  Neophytes  had  to  pass  in 
their  trials  through  all  tlie  four  elements,  emerging  in  the  fifth  as  glori- 


GLOSSARY  211 

fied  Initiates.  Tims  havin?  passed  through  Fire  (Deity),  Water 
(Divine  Spirit),  Air  (the  Breath  of  God),  and  the  Earth  (Matter), 
they  received  a  sacred  mark,  a  tat  and  a  ta^i,  or  a  -f-  and  a  T.  The 
latter  was  the  monogram  of  the  Cycle  called  the  Naros,  or  Neros.  As 
shown  by  Dr.  E.  V.  Kenealy,  in  his  Apocalypse,  the  cross  in  symbolical 
language  (one  of  the  seven  meanings)  " -\-  exhibits  at  the  same  time 
three  primitive  letters,  of  which  the  word  LVX  or  Light  is  compounded. 

.  .  .  The  Initiates  were  marked  with  this  sign,  when  they  were 
admitted  into  the  perfect  mysteries.  We  constantly  see  the  Tau  and 
the  Resh  united  thus  f.  Those  two  letters  in  the  old  Samaritan,  as 
found  on  coins,  stand,  the  first  for  400,  the  second  for  200  =  600.  This 
is  the  stafiP  of  Osiris."  Just  so,  but  this  does  not  prove  that  the  Naros 
was  a  cycle  of  600  years;  but  simply  that  one  more  pagan  symbol  had 
been  appropriated  by  the  Church.  (See  "Naros"  and  "Neros"  and 
also  "I.  H.  S.") 

Neo-platonism.  TAt.,  "The  new  Platonism"  or  Platonic  School. 
An  eclectic  pantheistic  school  of  philosophy  founded  in  Alexandria  by 
Ammonius  Saccas,  of  which  his  disciple  Plotinus  was  the  head  (a.d. 
189-270).  It  sought  to  reconcile  Platonic  teachings  and  the  Aristotelean 
system  with  oriental  Theosophy.  Its  chief  occupation  was  pure  spiritual 
philosophy,  metaphysics  and  mysticism.  Theurgy  was  introduced 
towards  its  later  years.  It  was  the  ultimate  effort  of  high  intelligences 
to  check  the  ever-increasing  ignorant  superstition  and  blind  faith  of  the 
times;  the  last  product  of  Greek  philosophy,  which  was  finally  crushed 
and  put  to  death  by  brute  force. 

Nephesh  Chia  (Kah.).    Animal  or  living  Soul. 

Nephesh  (Heh.).  Breath  of  life.  Anima.  Mens,  Vita,  Appetites. 
This  term  is  used  very  loosely  in  the  Bible.  It  generally  means  Prana 
"life";  in  the  Kabbalah  it  is  the  animal  passions  and  the  animal  Soul. 
[w.w.w.]  Therefore,  as  maintained  in  theosophical  teacnings.  Nephesh 
is  the  synonym  of  the  Prana-Kamic  Principle,  or  the  vital  animal  Soul 
in  man.     [h.  p.  b.] 

Nephilim  (llch.).     Giants,  Titans,  the  Fallen  Ones. 

Nephtys  (Eg.).  The  sister  of  Isis,  philosophically  only  one  of  her 
aspects.  As  Osiris  and  Typhon  are  one  under  two  aspects,  so  Isis  and 
Nephtys  are  one  and  the  same  symbol  of  nature  under  its  dual  aspect. 
Thus,  while  Isis  is  the  wife  of  Osiris,  Nephtys  is  the  wife  of  Typhon,  the 
foe  of  Osiris  and  his  slayer,  although  she  weeps  for  him.  She  is  often 
represented  at  the  bier  of  the  great  Sun-god,  having  on  her  head  a  disk 
between  the  two  horns  of  a  crescent.  She  is  the  genius  of  the  lower 
world,  and  Anubis,  the  Egyptian  Pluto,  is  called  her  son.  Plutarch  has 
given  a  fair  esoteric  explanation  of  the  two  sisters.  Thus  he  writes: 
"Nephtys  designs  that  which  is  under  the  earth,  and  which  one  sees 
not  {i.e.,  its  disintegrating  and  reproducing  power),  and  Isis  that  wliich 
is  above  earth,  and  which  is  visible  (or  physical  nature).     .     .     .     Tlie 


/ 


212  TIIKOSOPIIICAL 

I'irclf  of  tile  liori/.oii  uhifli  dividt'S  these  two  lu'inisplicros  and  which  is 
common  to  lioth,  is  Ainibis. "  The  identity  of  the  two  {goddesses  is  shown 
in  that  Isis  is  also  caUed  the  motlier  oi"  Anubis.  Tims  the  two  are  the 
Alpha  and  Oineg^a  of  Nature. 

Nergal  (Chald.).  On  the  Assyrian  taWots  he  is  described  as  the 
"jriant  kiiij;  of  war.  lord  of  the  city  of  Cutha."  It  is  also  the  Hebrew 
name  for  the  planet  .Mars,  associated  invariably  with  ill-luck  and  danger. 
Xergal-.Mars  is  the  "shedder  of  blood."  In  occult  astrolofry  it  is  less 
malefic  than  Saturn,  but  is  more  active  in  its  associations  with  men  and 
its  influence  on  them. 

Neros  (Ilrb.).  As  shown  by  the  latt'  E.  V.  Kencaly  tliis  "Naronic 
Cycle"  was  a  }tif/stcrij,  a  true  "secret  of  god",  to  disclose  which  during 
the  prevalence  of  the  religious  mysteries  and  the  authority  of  the  priests, 
meant  death.  The  learned  author  seemed  to  take  it  for  granted  that 
the  Neros  was  of  600  years  duration,  but  he  was  mistaken.  (See 
"Xaros".)  Nor  were  the  establisliment  of  the  Mysteries  and  the  rites  of 
Initiation  due  merely  to  the  necessity  of  ])erpetuating  the  knowledge  of 
the  true  meaning  of  the  Naros  and  keeping  this  cycle  secret  from  the 
profane ;  for  the  ^Mysteries  are  as  old  as  the  present  human  race,  and 
there  were  far  more  important  secrets  to  veil  than  the  figures  of  any 
cycle.  (See  "Neophyte"  and  "I.  H.  S.",  also  "Naros".)  The  mystery 
of  606.  "the  number  of  the  great  heart"  so  called,  is  far  better  repre- 
sented by  the  2\iu  and  the  Resh  than  600. 

Nerthus  (Old  Sax.).  The  goddess  of  the  earth,  of  love  and  beauty 
with  tile  old  Germans;  the  same  as  the  Scandinavian  Freya  or  Frigga. 
Tacitus  mentions  the  great  honours  paid  to  Nerthus  wlien  her  idol  was 
carried  on  a  car  in  triumph  through  several  districts. 

Neshamah  (Ibb.).  Soul,  anima,  afflatus.  In  the  Kabbalah,  as 
taught  in  the  Rosicrucian  order,  one  of  the  three  highest  essences  of  the 
Human  Soul,  corresponding  to  the  Sephira  Binah.   [w.w.w.] 

Nesku  or  Nusku  (Chald.).  Is  described  in  the  Assyrian  tablets  as 
the  "holder  of  the  golden  sceptre,  the  lofty  god". 

Netzach  (Heh.).  "Victory".  The  seventh  of  the  Ten  Sepliiroth, 
a  masculine  active  potency,     [w.w.w.] 

Nidana  (Sk.).  The  12  causes  of  existence,  or  a  chain  of  causation, 
"a  concatenation  of  cause  and  effect  in  the  whole  range  of  existence 
through  12  links".  This  is  the  fundamental  dogma  of  Buddhist  thought, 
"the  understanding  of  which  solves  the  riddle  of  life,  revealing  the 
insanity  of  existence  and  preparing  the  mind  for  Nirvana".  (Eitel's 
Sans.  Chin.  Diet.)  The  12  links  stand  thus  in  their  enumeration.  (1) 
Jdti,  or  birth,  according  to  one  of  the  four  modes  of  entering  the  stream 
of  life  and  reincarnation — or  Chatur  Yoni  (q.v.),  each  mode  placing  the 
being  born  in  one  of  the  six  Gati  (q.v.)  (2)  Jardrnarana,  or  decrepi- 
tude and  death,  following  the  maturity  of  the  Skandhas  (q.v.).  (3) 
Bhava.  the  Karmic  agent  which  leads  every  new  sentient  being  to  be 


GLOSSARY  213 

born  in  this  or  another  mode  of  existence  in  the  Trailokya  and  Gdti. 
(4)  Upaddna,  the  creative  cause  of  Bhava  which  thus  becomes  the 
cause  of  Jdti  which  is  the  effect;  and  this  creative  cause  is  the  clinging 
to  life.  (5)  Trishnd,  love,  whether  pure  or  impure.  (6)  Veddna,  or 
sensation;  perception  by  the  senses,  it  is  tlie  5th  Skandha.  (7)  Sparsa, 
the  sense  of  touch.  (8)  Chaddyatana,  the  organs  of  sensation.  (9) 
Ndmarupa,  personality,  i.e.,  a  form  with  a  name  to  it,  the  symbol  of 
the  unreality  of  material  phenomenal  appearances.  (10)  Vijndna,  the 
perfect  knowledge  of  every  perceptible  thing  and  of  all  objects  in  their 
concatenation  and  unity.  (11)  Samskdra,  action  on  the  plane  of  illusion. 
(12)  Avidyd,  lack  of  true  perception,  or  ignorance.  Tiie  Nidanas  be- 
longing to  the  most  subtle  and  abstruse  doctrines  of  the  Eastern  meta- 
physical system,  it  is  impossible  to  go  into  the  subject  at  any  greater 
length. 

Nidhi  (Sk.).  A  treasure.  Nine  treasures  belonging  to  the  god 
Kuvera — the  Vedic  Satan — each  treasure  being  under  the  guardianship 
of  a  demon ;  these  are  personified,  and  are  the  objects  of  worship  of  the 
Tantrikas. 

Nidhogg  (Scand.).     The  "Mundane"  Serpent. 

Nidra  (Sk.).    Sleep.    Also  the  female  form  of  Brahma. 

Niflheim  (Scand.).  The  cold  Hell,  in  the  Edda.  A  place  of 
eternal  non-consciousness  and  inactivity.  (See  Secret  Doctrine,  Vol. 
II.,  p.  245). 

Night  of  Brahma.  The  period  between  the  dissolution  and  the 
active  life  of  the  Universe  which  is  called  in  contrast  the  ''Day  of 
Brahma". 

Nilakantha  (Sk.).  A  name  of  Siva  meaning  "blue  throated". 
This  is  said  to  liave  been  the  result  of  som^  poison  administered  to  the 
god. 

Nile-God  (Eg.).  Represented  by  a  wooden  image  of  the  river  god 
receiving  honours  in  gratitude  for  the  bounties  its  waters  afford  the 
country.  There  was  a  "celestial"  Nile,  called  in  the  Ritual  Nen-naou 
or  "primordial  waters";  and  a  terrestrial  Nile,  worshipped  at  Nilopolis 
and  Ilapimoo.  The  latter  was  represented  as  an  androgynous  being  with 
a  beard  and  breasts,  and  a  fat  blue  face ;  green  limbs  and  reddish  body. 
At  the  approach  of  the  yearly  inundation,  the  image  was  carried  from 
one  place  to  another  in  solemn  procession. 

Nimbus  (Lat.).  The  aureole  around  the  iicads  of  the  Christ  and 
Saints  in  Greek  and  Romish  Churches  is  of  Eastern  origin.  As  every 
Orientalist  knows,  Buddha  is  described  as  having  his  head  surrounded 
with  shining  glory  six  cubits  in  width ;  and.  as  shown  by  Hardy  {Eastern 
Monachisni),  "his  principal  disciples  are  represented  by  the  native 
painters  as  having  a  similar  mark  of  eminence".  In  China.  Tibet  and 
Japan,  tlie  heads  of  the  saints  are  always  surrounded  with  a  nimbus. 


214  THEOSOPIIICAL 

Nimitta  (ShJ.  1.  An  iiitri-ioi-  illuniiiiatioii  dcw-lopcd  by  tlu- 
prat-tici'  of  iiu'clitatioii.  2.  Tlie  ellicii-iit  spiritual  cause,  as  contrasted 
with  Upadi'ma,  tlic  material  cause,  in  Vedauta  philosophy.  See  also 
I'radhana  in  SAnkhya  philosophy. 

Nine.  The  "Kahl)alah  of  the  Nine  Chamhers"  is  a  form  of  secret 
\viitin<;  in  ei[)her,  which  orijrinated  witli  tlie  Hebrew  Rabbis,  and  has 
bt-en  used  by  several  societies  for  pur])0Ses  of  concealment :  notably  some 
grrades  of  the  Freemasons  have  ado])ted  it.  A  iigfure  is  drawn  of  two 
horizontal  parallel  lines  and  two  vertical  parallel  lines  across  them,  this 
process  forms  nine  chambers,  the  centre  one  a  simple  square,  the  others 
beinp:  either  two  or  three  sided  ligures,  these  are  allotted  to  the  several 
letters  in  any  order  that  is  ajrreed  upon.  There  is  also  a  Kabbalistic 
atttribution  of  the  ten  Sephiroth  to  these  nine  chambers,  but  this  is  not 
published,  [w.w.w.] 

Nirguna  (Sk.).  Neg:ative  attribute:  unl)ound,  or  without  Giinas 
(attributes),  i.e.,  that  which  is  devoid  of  all  qualities,  the  opposite  of 
Saguna,  that  which  has  attributes  (Secret  Doctrine,  11.  95),  e.g.,  Para- 
brahraani  is  Nirguna ;  Brahma,  Saguna.  Nirguna  is  a  term  which 
shows  the  impersonality'  of  the  thing  spoken  of. 

Nirmanakaya  (Sk.).  Something  entirely  ditt'erent  in  esoteric 
philosophy  from  tiie  popular  meaning  attached  to  it,  and  from  the 
fancies  of  the  Orientalists.  Some  call  the  Nirmanakaya  body  "Nirvana 
with  remains"  (Schlagintweit,  etc.)  on  the  supposition,  probably,  that  it 
is  a  kind  of  Xirvanic  condition  during  which  consciousness  and  form  are 
retained.  Otiiers  say  that  it  is  one  of  the  Trikdya  (three  bodies),  with 
the  "power  of  assuming  any  form  of  appearance  in  order  to  propagate 
Buddhism'"  (Eitel's  idea)  ;  again,  that  "it  is  the  incarnate  avatara 
of  a  deity"  (ibid.),  and  so  on.  Occultism,  on  the  other  hand,  says: 
that  Nirmanakaya,  although  meaning  literally  a  transformed  "body", 
is  a  state.  The  form  is  that  of  the  adept  or  yogi  who  enters,  or  chooses, 
that  post  mortem  condition  in  preference  to  the  Dharmakaya  or  absolute 
Nirvanic  state.  He  does  this  because  the  latter  kdya  separates  him  for 
ever  from  the  world  of  form,  conferring  upon  him  a  state  of  selfish  bliss, 
in  which  no  other  living  being  can  participate,  the  adept  being  thus 
precluded  from  the  possibility  of  helping  humanity,  or  even  devas.  As  a 
Nirmanakaya,  however,  the  man  leaves  behind  him  only  his  physical 
body,  and  retains  every  other  "principle"  save  the  Kamic — for  he  has 
crushed  this  out  for  ever  from  his  nature,  during  life,  and  it  can  never 
resurrect  in  his  post  mortem  state.  Thus,  instead  of  going  into  selfish 
bliss,  he  chooses  a  life  of  self-sacrifice,  an  existence  which  ends  only  with 
the  life-cycle,  in  order  to  be  enabled  to  help  mankind  in  an  invisible 
yet  most  effective  manner.  (See  The  Voice  of  the  Silence,  third  treatise, 
"The  Seven  Portals".)  Thus  a  Nirmanakaya  is  not,  as  popularly 
believed,  the  body  "in  which  a  Buddha  or  a  Bodhisattva  appears  on 
earth",  but  verily  one  who  whether  a   Chutuktu  or  a  KhubUkhan,  an 


GLOSSARY  215 

adept  or  a  yogi  during  life,  has  since  become  a  member  of  that  invisible 
Host  which  ever  protects  and  watches  over  Humanity  within  Karmic 
limits.  Mistaken  often  for  a  ''Spirit",  a  Deva,  God  himself,  &c.,  a 
Nirmanakaya  is  ever  a  protecting,  compassionate,  verily  a  guardian 
angel,  to  him  who  becomes  worthy  of  his  help.  Whatever  objection  may 
be  brouglit  forward  against  this  doctrine ;  however  nnich  it  is  denied, 
because,  forsooth,  it  has  never  been  hitherto  made  public  in  Europe  and 
therefore  since  it  is  unknown  to  Orientalists,  it  must  needs  be  "a  myth 
of  modern  invention" — no  one  will  be  bold  enough  to  say  that  this  idea 
of  helping  suffering  mankind  at  the  price  of  one 's  own  almost  intermin- 
able self-sacrifice,  is  not  one  of  the  grandest  and  noblest  that  was  ever 
evolved  from  human  brain. 

Nirmathya  (Sk.).  The  sacred  fire  produced  by  the  friction  of 
two  pieces  of  wood — the  "fire"  called  Pavamdna  in  the  Purnnaa.  The 
allegory  contained  therein  is  an  occult  teaching. 

Nirriti  (Sk.).    A  goddess  of  Death  and  Decay. 

Nirukta  (Sk.).  An  anga  or  limb,  a  division  of  tlic  Wdas;  a 
glossarial  comment. 

Nirupadhi  (Sk.).     Attributeless;  the  negation  of  attributes. 

Nirvana  (Sk.).  According  to  the  Orientalists,  the  entire  "blowing 
out",  like  the  flame  of  a  candle,  the  utter  extinction  of  existence.  But 
in  the  esoteric  explanations  it  is  the  state  of  absolute  existence  and  abso- 
lute consciousness,  into  which  the  Ego  of  a  man  who  has  reached  the 
highest  degree  of  perfection  and  holiness  during  life  goes,  after  the  body 
dies,  and  occasionally,  as  in  the  case  of  Gautama  Buddha  and  others, 
during  life.     (See  "Nirvani".) 

Nirvani  (Sk.).  One  who  has  attained  Nirvana — an  emancipated 
soul.  That  Nirvana  means  notliing  of  the  kind  asserted  by  Orientalists 
every  scholar  who  has  visited  China,  India  and  Japan  is  well  aware.  It 
is  ''escape  from  misery"  but  only  from  that  of  matter,  freedom  from 
Kleslia,  or  Kama,  and  the  complete  extinction  of  animal  desires.  If  we 
are  told  that  Ahidharma  defines  Nirvana  "as  a  state  of  absolute  annihila- 
tion", we  concur,  adding  to  the  last  word  the  qualification  "of  every- 
thing connected  with  matter  or  the  physical  world",  and  this  simply 
because  the  latter  (as  also  all  in  it)  is  illusion,  mdyd.  Sakyamuni 
Buddha  said  in  the  last  moments  of  his  life  that  "the  spiritual  body 
is  immortal"  (See  Sans.  Chin.  Diet.).  As  Mr.  Eitel,  the  scholarly 
Sinologist,  explains  it:  "The  popular  exoteric  sj-stems  agree  in  defining 
Nirvana  negatively  as  a  state  of  absolute  exemption  from  tlie  circle  of 
transmigration  ;  as  a  state  of  entire  freedom  from  all  forms  of  existence ; 
to  begin  with,  freedom  from  all  passion  and  exertion ;  a  state  of  indiffer- 
ence to  all  sensibility" — and  he  might  have  added  "death  of  all 
compassion  for  the  world  of  suffering".  And  this  is  why  the 
Bodhisattvas  who  prefer  the  Nirmanakaya  to  the  Dliarmakaya  vesture, 
stand  higher  in  the  popular  estimation  than  the  Nirvanis.    But  the  same 


216  THEOSOPIIICAL 

scholar  adds  that:  "Postivt'ly  (and  esotcrically  )  they  define  Nirvana  as 
the  hifjliest  state  of  spiritual  hliss,  as  absolute  immortality  through 
absorption  of  the  soul  (spirit  rather)  into  itself,  but  prtsirving  individ- 
uality so  that,  e.g.,  Buddhas,  after  entering  Nirvana,  may  reappear  on 
earth" — ij.,  in  the  future  ^lanvantara. 

Nishada  iSk.).  (1  )  One  of  the  strrti  (pialitii'S  of  sound — the  one 
and  sole  attribute  of  Akasa  ;  (2)  the  seventh  note  of  the  Hindu  musical 
scale;  (3)  an  outcast  offspring  of  a  Brahman  and  a  Sudra  mother; 
(4)  a  range  of  mountains  south  of  Meru — north  of  the  Himalayas. 

Nissi  (Chald.).     One  of  tiie  seven  Chaldean  gods. 

Niti  f.s'AJ.    Lit.,  Prudence,  ethics. 

Nitya  Parivrita  (Sk.).    Lit.,  continuous  extinction. 

Nitya  Pralaya  (Sh.).  Lit.,  "peri)etuar'  Pralaya  or  dissolution. 
It  is  the  constant  and  imperceptible  changes  undergone  by  the  atoms 
which  last  as  long  as  a  Mahamanvantara,  a  whole  age  of  Brahma,  which 
takes  fifteen  figures  to  sum  up.  A  stage  of  chronic  change  and  dissolu- 
tion, the  stages  of  growth  and  decay.  It  is  the  duration  of  "Seven 
Eternities".  (See  Secret  Doctrine  I."371,  11.  69,  310.)  There  are  four 
kinds  of  Pralayas,  or  states  of  changelessness.  The  Naimittika,  when 
Brahma  slumbers;  the  Prakritika,  a  partial  Pralaya  of  anything  during 
Manvantara ;  Atyantika,  when  man  has  identified  himself  with  the  One 
Absolute — a  synonym  of  Nirvana;  and  Nitya,  for  physical  things 
especially,  as  a  state  of  profound  and  dreamless  sleep. 

Nitya  Sarga  (Sk.).  The  state  of  constant  creation  or  evolution, 
as  opposed  to  Nitya  Pralaya — the  state  of  perpetual  incessant  dissolu- 
tion (or  change  of  atoms)  disintegration  of  molecules,  hence  change  of 
forms. 

Nizir  (Chald.).  The  "Deluge  Moniitain"";  the  Ararat  of  the  Baby- 
lonians with  "Xisuthrus"  as  Noah. 

Nixies.    The  water-sprites  ;  Undines. 

Niyashes  (Mazd.).    Parsi  prayers. 

Nofir-hotpoo  (Eg.).  The  same  as  the  god  Khonsoo,  the  lunar 
god  of  Thebes.  Lit.,  "he  w^ho  is  in  absolute  rest".  Nofir-hotpoo  is  one 
of  the  three  persons  of  the  Egyptian  trinity,  composed  of  Ammon, 
Mooth,  and  their  son  Khonsoo  or  Nofir-liotpoo. 

Nogah  (Chalel.).    Venus,  the  planet;  glittering  splendour. 

Noo  (Eg.).  Primordial  waters  of  space  called  "Father-^Mother" ; 
the  ' '  face  of  the  deep ' '  of  the  Bible ;  for  above  Noo  hovers  the  Breath  of 
Kneph,  who  is  represented  with  the  Mundane  Egg  in  his  mouth. 

Noom  (Eg).  A  celestial  sculptor,  in  the  Egyptian  legends,  who 
creates  a  beautiful  girl  whom  he  sends  like  another  Pandora  to  Batoo  (or 
"man"),  whose  happiness  is  thereafter  destroyed.  The  "sculptor"  or 
artist  is  the  same  as  Jehovah,  the  architect  of  the  world,  and  the  girl  is 
"Eve"." 


GLOSSARY  217 

Noon  (Eg.).  Tlie  celestial  river  which  flows  in  Noot,  the  cosmic 
abyss  or  Noo.  As  all  the  gods  have  been  generated  in  the  river  (the 
Gnostic  Pleroma),  it  is  called  "the  Father-Mother  of  the  gods". 

Noor  Ilahee  (Arab.).  "The  light  of  the  Elohim"',  literally.  This 
light  is  believed  by  some  ]\Iussulmen  to  be  transmitted  to  mortals 
"through  a  hundred  prophet-leaders".  Divine  knowledge;  the  Light  of 
the  Secret  Wisdom. 

Noot  (Eg.).  The  heavenly  abyss  in  the  Ritual  or  tlie  Book  of  the 
Dead.  It  is  infinite  space  personified  in  the  Vcdas  by  Aditi,  the  god- 
dess wlio,  like  Noon  (q.v.)  is  the  "mother  of  all  the  gods". 

Norns  (Scand.).  Tlie  tliree  sister  goddesses  in  the  Edda,  who  make 
known  to  men  the  degrees  of  Orlog  or  Fate.  They  are  shown  as  coming 
out  of  the  unknown  distances  enveloped  in  a  dark  veil  to  the  Ash  Yggd- 
rasil  (q.v.),  and  "sprinkle  it  dail.v  with  water  from  the  Fountain  of  Urd, 
that  it  may  not  wither  but  remain  green  and  fresh  and  strong"  {Asgard 
and  the  Gods).  Their  names  are  "Urd",  the  Past;  "Werdandi",  the 
Present;  and  "Skuld",  the  Future,  "which  is  either  rich  in  hope  or  dark 
with  tears".  Thus  they  reveal  the  degrees  of  Fate  "for  out  of  the  past 
and  present  the  events  and  actions  of  the  future  are  born"  {loc.  cit.). 

Notaricon  (Keib.).  A  division  of  the  practical  Kabbalah;  treats 
(»f  the  formation  of  words  from  the  initials  or  finals  of  the  words  in 
every  sentence ;  or  conversely  it  forms  a  sentence  of  words  whose  initials 
or  finals  are  those  of  some  word,     [w.w.w.] 

Noumenon  (Gr.).  The  true  essential  nature  of  being  as  distin- 
guished from  the  illusive  objects  of  sense. 

Nous.  (Gr.).  A  Platonic  term  for  the  Higher  .Mind  or  Soul.  It 
means  Spirit  as  distinct  from  animal  Soul — ps]jehe ;  divine  consciousness 
or  mind  in  man :  Nous  was  the  designation  given  to  the  Supreme  deity 
(third  logos)  by  Anaxagoras.  Taken  from  Egypt  where  it  was  called 
Nout,  it  was  ado])ted  by  the  Gnostics  for  their  first  conscious  .^on 
which,  with  the  Occultists,  is  the  third  logos,  eosmieally,  and  the  third 
"principle"  (from  above)  or  ynanas,  in  man.     (See  "Nout"). 

Nout.  (Gr.).  In  the  Pantheon  of  the  Egy]>tians  it  meant  the  "One- 
only-One",  because  they  did  not  proceed  in  theii-  popular  or  exoteric 
religion  higher  than  the  ihird  manifestation  wliieh  radiates  from  the 
Unknown  and  the  Unknowahh ,  the  first  unmanifested  and  the  second 
logoi  in  the  esoteric  philosoi)hy  of  every  nation.  The  Nous  of  Anaxa- 
goras was  the  Mahat  of  the  Hindu  Brahma,  the  first  manifested  Deity 
— "the  Mind  or  Spirit  self-potent";  this  creative  Principle  being  of 
course  the  primum  mobile  of  everything  in  the  Universe — its  Soul  and 
Ideation.    (See  "Seven  Principles""  in  man). 

Number  Nip.  An  Elf,  the  mighty  King  of  the  Riesengebirge,  the 
most  powerful  of  the  genii  in  Scandinavian  and  German  folk-lore. 

Nuns.     There  were  nuns  in  ancient  Egypt  as  well  as  in  Peru  and  old 


218  THBOSOPHKAL 

Pagran  Rome.  Tlif,\-  wi-iv  tlu-  "virjrin  britli's"  of  tlit-ir  ivspi-ftive  (Solar) 
gods.  Says  IltTodotus,  "The  ])ruU'S  of  Aniiiion  are  cxt'luded  from  all 
intorcoursc  witii  men",  they  are  "the  brides  of  Heaven";  and  virtually 
they  become  dead  to  the  world,  just  as  they  are  now.  In  Peru  they  were 
"Pure  Virgins  of  tiie  Sun",  and  the  Pallakists  of  Aramon-Ra  are  re- 
ferred to  in  some  inscriptions  as  the  "divine  spouses".  "The  sister  of 
Ounnefer,  the  chief  propiiet  of  Osiris,  during  tiie  reign  oi  Kameses  II.." 
is  dcseribed  as  "Taia.  Lady  Abbess  of  Nuns"   ((]Mariette  Bey). 

Nuntis  (Lai.).  The  "Sun-AVolf",  a  name  of  the  planet  Mercury, 
lie  is  the  Sun's  attendant,  Sol<iris  lu minis  particeps.  (See  Secret  Doet. 
II.  28). 

Nyaya  (Sk.).  One  of  the  six  DnrslidiKis  or  schools  of  Philosojihy  in 
India;  a  system  of  Hindu  logic  founded  by  the  Rishi  Gautama. 

Nyima  (Tib.).    The  Sun — astrologically. 

Nyingpo  (Tib.).  The  same  as  Alaya.  •'th.'  World  Soul";  also 
calUnl  Tsang. 


GLOSSARY  219 


o. 

V-/.  — The  fifteenth  letter  and  fourth  vowel  in  the  Engrlish  alphabet.  It 
has  no  equivalent  in  Hebrew,  whose  alphabet  with  one  exception  is 
vowelless.  As  a  numeral,  it  signified  with  the  ancients  11 ;  and  with  a 
dash  on  it  11,000.  With  other  ancient  people  also,  it  was  a  very  sacred 
letter.  In  the  Devanagari,  or  the  characters  of  the  gods,  its  significance 
is  varied,  but  tliere  is  no  space  to  give  instances. 

Oak,  sacred.  Witli  the  Druids  the  oak  Avas  a  most  holy  tree,  and  so 
also  with  the  ancient  Greeks,  if  we  can  believe  Pherecydes  and  his  cos- 
mogony, who  tells  us  of  the  sacred  oak  "in  whose  luxuriant  branches 
a  serpent  {i.e.,  wisdom)  dwelleth,  and  cannot  be  dislodged''.  Every 
nation  had  its  own  sacred  trees,  pre-eminently  the  Hindus. 

Cannes.  (Gr.).  ^Musarus  Cannes,  the  Annedotus,  known  in  the 
Chaldean  "legends",  transmitted  through  Berosus  and  other  ancient 
writers,  as  Dag  or  Dagon  the  "man-fish".  Cannes  came  to  the  early 
Babylonians  as  a  reformer  and  an  instructor.  Appearing  from  the 
Erythraean  Sea,  lie  brought  to  them  civilization,  letters  and  sciences, 
law,  astronomy  and  religion,  teaching  them  agriculture,  geometry  and  the 
arts  in  general.  There  were  Annedoti  Avho  came  after  him,  five  in  number 
(our  race  being  the  fifth)' — "all  like  Cannes  in  form  and  teaching 
the  same ' ' ;  but  Musarus  Cannes  was  the  first  to  appear,  and  this  he 
did  during  the  reign  of  Ammenon,  the  tliird  of  the  ten  antediluvian 
Kings  whose  dynasty  ended  witli  Xisuthrus.  the  Chaldean  Noah  (See 
"Xisuthrus").  Cannes  was  "an  animal  endowed  with  reason  .  .  . 
whose  body  was  that  of  a  fish,  but  ivho  had  a  human  head  under  the 
fish's  with  feet  also  helow,  similar  to  those  of  a  man,  subjoined  to  the 
fish's  tail,  and  whose  voice  and  language  too  were  articidate  and  human" 
(Polyhistor  and  Apollodorus).  This  gives  the  key  to  the  allegory.  It 
l)oints  out  Cannes,  as  a  man  and  a  "priest",  an  Initiate.  Layard  showed 
long  ago  (See  Nineveh)  that  the  "fish's  liead  "  was  simply  a  head  gear, 
the  mitre  worn  by  priests  and  gods,  made  in  the  form  of  a  fish's  head, 
and  which  in  a  very  little  modified  form  is  what  we  see  even  now  on  the 
heads  of  high  Lamas  and  Romauish  Bishops.  Csiris  had  such  a  mitre. 
The  fish's  tail  is  simi)ly  the  train  of  a  long,  stiflf  mantle  as  depicted  on 
some  AssjTian  tablets,  tlie  form  being  seen  reproduced  in  the  sacerdotal 
gold  cloth  garment  worn  during  service  by  the  modern  Greek  priests. 
This  allegory  of  Cannes,  the  Annedotus,  reminds  us  of  the  "Dragon" 
and  "Snake-Kings";  the  Nagas  who  in  Buddhist  legends  instruct  peo- 
ple in  wisdom  on  lakes  and  rivers,  and  end  by  becoming  converts  to  the 
good  Law  and  Arhats.     The  meaning  is  evident.     The  "fish"  is  an  old 


220  THKUSUl'IllCAL 

and  wry  sujrfJ«'stive  syiiihol  in  the  Mystrry-lan^rua^'t',  as  is  also  "water". 
Ea  or  Ilea  was  the  pod  of  the  st'ii  and  Wisdom,  and  the  sea  serpent  was 
one  of  his  emhlenis.  Ins  priests  beinj;  "serpents''  or  Initiates.  Thus 
one  sets  why  Oetniltisni  phiees  Oannes  and  the  other  Ann.'doti  in  thf 
proup  of  those  aiieifiit  "adepts"  who  were  ealled  "marine"  or  "water 
drafjons" — yat/tis.  Water  typili«-d  theii-  Imnian  orijrin  (as  it  is  a  symbol 
of  eartli  ami  matter  ami  also  of  purilieation),  in  distinetion  to  the  "tire 
Nagras"  or  the  immaterial.  Spiritual  Beings,  whether  celestial  Bodhisatt- 
vas  or  Planetary  Dhyanis,  also  rejrarded  as  the  instructors  of  mankind. 
The  hiddt'n  meaidn*;  becomes  clear  to  the  Occultist,  once  lir  is  told  that 
"this  bi-inj;  (Oannes)  was  accustomed  to  pass  the  day  amonfj  men. 
teaehinj;;  and  wiien  the  Sun  had  .st't,  he  retired  ajrain  into  the  sea,  j)ass- 
ing  the  night  in  the  deep,  "for  he  was  amphibious",  i.e.,  he  belonged 
to  two  planes:  the  spiritual  and  the  physical.  For  the  Greek  word 
amphibius  means  simply  "life  on  two  planes",  from  nmphi.  "on  both 
sides",  and  bios,  "life".  The  word  was  often  applied  in  antiquity  to 
those  men  who,  though  still  wearing  a  human  form,  had  made  tliem- 
selves  almost  divine  through  knowledge,  and  lived  as  nnicli  in  the  spirit- 
ual supersensuous  regions  as  on  earth.  Oannes  is  dimly  i-efleeted  in 
Jonah,  and  even  in  John,  the  Precursor,  both  connected  witli  Fish  and 
Water. 

Ob  (H(b.).  The  astral  light  -or  ratlii-r,  its  pernicious  evil  currents 
— was  personified  by  the  Jews  as  a  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  Ob.  With  them, 
anv  one  who  dealt  with  spirits  and  necromancy  was  said  to  be  po.ssessed 
by  the  Spirit  of  Ob. 

Obeah.  Sorcerers  and  sorceresses  of  Africa  and  the  West  Indies.  A 
sect  of  black  magicians,  snake-charmers,  enchanters,  etc. 

Occult  Sciences.  The  .science  of  the  secrets  of  nature — i)hysical 
and  p.sychic,  mental  and  spiritual ;  called  Hermetic  and  Esoteric  Sciences. 
In  the  West,  the  Kabbalah  may  be  named;  in  the  East,  mysticism,  magic, 
and  Yoga  philo.sophy,  which  latter  is  often  referred  to  by  the  Chelas  in 
India  as  the  sfvoiih  "Darshana"  (school  of  philosophy),  there  being 
only  six  Darshanas  in  India  known  to  the  world  of  the  profane.  Thest> 
sciences  are,  and  have  been  for  ages,  hidden  from  the  vulgar  for  the 
very  good  reason  that  they  would  never  be  appreciated  by  the  .selfish 
educated  classes,  nor  undcr.stood  by  the  uneducated ;  whilst  the  former 
might  misuse  them  for  their  own  profit,  and  thus  turn  the  divine  science 
into  black  magic.  It  is  often  brought  forward  as  an  accusation  against 
the  Esoteric  philosophy  and  the  Kabbalah,  that  tlieir  literature  is  full  of 
"a  barbarous  and  meaningless  jargon"  unintelliglible  to  the  ordinary 
mind.  But  do  not  exact  Sciences — medicine,  physiology,  chemistry,  and 
the  rest — do  the  same  ?  Do  not  official  Scientists  equally  veil  their  facts 
and  discoveries  w^ith  a  newly  coined  and  most  barbarous  Gra?co-Latin 
terminology?  As  justly  remarked  by  our  late  brother,  Kenneth  j\Iac- 
kenzie — "To  juggle  thus  with  words,  when  the  facts  are  so  simple  is  the 


GLOSS  A  FU'  221 

art  of  the  Scientists  of  the  present  time,  in  striking  contrast  to  those  of 
the  XVIIth  century,  who  called  spades  spades  and  not  'agricultural 
iinj»Iements'  ''.  Moreover,  whilst  tlieir  facts  would  be  as  simple  and  as 
comprehensible  if  rendered  in  ordinary  language,  the  facts  of  Occult 
Science  are  of  so  abstruse  a  nature,  that  in  most  cases  no  words  exist  in 
European  languages  to  express  them;  in  addition  to  which  our  "jargon"' 
is  a  douhle  necessity — (a)  for  the  purpose  of  describing  clearly  these 
fads  to  him  who  is  versed  in  the  Occult  terminology;  and  (&)  to  con- 
ceal them  from  the  profane. 

Occultist.  One  who  studies  the  various  branches  of  occult  science. 
The  term  is  used  by  the  French  Kabbalists  (See  Eliphas  Levi's  works). 
Occulti-sm  embraces  the  whole  range  of  psychological,  physiological,  cos- 
mical.  physical,  and  spiritual  phenomena.  From  the  word  occultus 
hidden  or  .secret.  It  therefore  ai)plies  to  the  study  of  the  Kabbalah,  a.s- 
trology,  alchemy,  and  all  arcane  sciences. 

Od  (Gr.).  From  odos,  ''passage",  or  passing  of  that  force  which  is 
developed  by  various  minor  forces  or  agencies  such  as  magnets,  chemical 
or  vital  action,  lieat,  light,  etc.  It  is  also  called  "odic"  and  "odylic 
force",  and  was  regarded  by  Reichenbach  and  his  followers  as  an  inde- 
pendent entitative  force — which  it  certainly  is — stored  in  man  as  it  is 
in  Nature. 

Odacon.  The  fifth  Annedotus,  or  Dagon,  (See  "Oannes")  who 
appeared  during  the  reign  of  Euedoreschus  from  Pentebiblon,  al.so 
"from  the  Erythraean  Sea  like  the  former,  having  tlie  same  complicated 
form  between  a  fish  and  a  man"  (Apollodoriis,  Cory  p.  30). 

Odem  or  Adm  (Hcb.).  A  stone  (tlie  cornelian)  on  the  brea.st-plate  of 
tile  .Jewish  High  Priest.  It  is  of  red  colour  and  possesses  a  great  medici- 
nal power. 

Odin  (Scaitd.).  The  god  of  ))attles,  tlie  old  German  Siiblxtoth.  tlie 
same  as  the  Scandinavian  ^yodan.  He  is  the  great  hero  in  the  Edda  and 
one  of  the  creators  of  man.  Roman  antiquity  regarded  him  as  one  with 
Hermes  or  Mercury  (Budlia),  and  modern  Orientalism  (Sir  W.  Jonesi 
accordingly  confused  him  with  Buddha.  In  the  Pantheon  of  the  Norse- 
men, he  is  the  "father  of  the  gods"  and  divine  wisdom,  and  as  such  he 
is  of  course  Hermes  or  the  creative  wisdom.  Odin  or  Wodan  in  creating 
the  first  man  from  trees — the  Ask  (asli)  and  Embla  (the  alder) —  en- 
dowed tlvem  with  life  and  soul.  TTonii-  with  intellect,  and  Lodur  with 
form  and  color. 

Odur  (Scand.).  The  human  luisbaiid  of  the  goddess  Freya.  a  scion 
of  divine  ancestry  in  the  Northern  mythology. 

Oeaihu,  or  Ocaihwu.  The  manner  of  pronounciation  depends  on  the 
accent.  This  is  an  esoteric  term  for  the  six  in  one  or  the  mystic  seven. 
The  occult  name  for  the  "seven  vowelled"  ever-present  manifestation  of 
the  Universal   Principle. 


222  TJIKUSUl'llllAL 

Ogdoad  I  dr.).  Tlu'  tetrad  or  "(lUiirtfiiary"  n'Meotiiif:  itself  pro- 
thu't'd  tile  ojrdoad,  the  "eif^lit",  according  to  the  ^larcosian  Gnostics, 
'{'he  ei<,'ht  jrreat  jrods  were  calU'd  the  "sacred  Ofjdoad". 

Ogham  (Celtic).  A  mystery  lanjriiafre  l)elon<;inf?  to  the  early  Celtic 
laeis.  and  used  by  the  Druids.  One  form  of  tliis  lan«;uage  consisted  in 
the  association  of  the  leav»'S  of  certain  trees  witli  the  letters,  this  was 
called  lirth-liiis-nioti  Offfuini,  and  to  form  words  and  senti-nces  the  leaves 
were  strung  on  a  cord  in  the  proper  order.  Godfrey  Iliggins  suggests 
that  to  complete  the  mystification  certain  otlier  leaves  which  meant 
jiotliing  were  interspersed,     [w.w.w.] 

Ogir  or  Ilhr  (Scdnd.).  A  chief  of  the  giants  in  the  Edda  and  the 
.illy  of  tlie  gods.  The  highest  of  the  Water-gods,  and  the  same  as  the 
(ini'k  Okeanos. 

Ogmius.  The  god  of  wisdom  and  eloquence  of  the  Di'uids.  hence 
llri-mt's  in  a  sense. 

0§7&i3'  (('f'-)-  An  ancient  sid)merged  island  known  as  the  isle  of 
<  alypso,  and  identified  by  some  with  Atlantis.  This  is  in  a  certain  sense 
correct.  But  then  what  portion  of  Atlantis,  since  the  latter  was  a  con- 
tinent rather  than  an  "enormous"  island! 

Oitzoe  (P(rs.).  The  invisible  goddess  whose  voice  spoke  through 
the  rocks,  and  whom,  according  to  Pliny,  the  Magi  had  to  consult  for  the 
f'lection  of  their  kings. 

Okhal  (Arab.).  The  "High"  priest  of  the  Druzes.  an  Initiator  into 
tlirir  mysteries. 

Okhema  (Gr.).    A  Platonic  term  meaning  "vehicle"  or  body. 

Okuthor  (Scand.).    The  same  as  Thor,  the  "thunder  god". 

Olympus  (Gr.).  A  mount  in  Greece,  the  abode  of  the  gods  accord- 
ing to  llomer  and  Hesiod. 

Om  or  Aum  (Sk.).  A  mystic  syllable,  tiie  most  solemn  of  all  words  in 
India.  It  is  "an  invocation,  a  benediction,  an  affirmation  and  a 
])romise";  and  it  is  .so  sacred,  as  to  be  indeed  ihe  word  at  low  breath  of 
occult,  primitive  masonry.  No  one  must  be  near  when  the  syllable  is 
pronounced  for  a  purpose.  This  word  is  usually  placed  at  the  begin- 
ning of  sacred  Scriptures,  and  is  prefixed  to  prayers.  It  is  a  compound 
of  three  letters  a,  ii,  m,  which,  in  the  popular  belief,  are  typical  of  the 
three  Vedas,  also  of  the  three  gods — A  (Agni)  V  (Varuna)  and  M 
(jMaruts)  or  Fire,  Water  and  Air.  In  esoteric  philosophy  these  are  the 
three  sacred  fires,  or  the  "triple  fire"  in  the  Universe  and  Man,  besides 
many  other  things.  Occultly,  this  "triple  fire"  represents  the  highest 
TctraMfjn  also,  as  it  is  typified  by  the  Agni  named  Abhimanin  and  his 
transformation  into  his  three  sons,  Pavana,  Pavamana  and  Suchi,  "who 
drinks  up  water",  i.e.,  destroys  material  desires.  This  monosyllable  is 
<'alled  T^dgitta,  and  is  sacred  with  both  Brahmins  and  Buddhists. 

Omito-Fo  (Chin.).     The  name  of  Amita-Buddha,  in  China. 


OLOSSARY^  223 

Omkara  (^Sh■.).  Tlie  saim-  as  Amu  or  Oiii.  It  is  also  tin-  uaiiif  of 
one  of  the  twelve  lingams,  that  was  represented  by  a  secret  and  most 
saf-rcd  shrine  at  Ujjain — no  longer  existing,  since  the  time  of  Buddhism. 

Omoroka  (ChaldJ.  The  "sea'"  and  the  woman  who  personifies  it 
accordiiifi  to  Bcrosus,  or  ratlier  of  Apollodorus.  As  the  diriiK  watrr. 
however,  Omoroka  is  tiie  reflection  of  Wisdom  from  on  high. 

Onech  (H<h.).  The  Phoenix,  so  named  after  Enoch  or  Phenoch.  For 
Enoch  (also  Klicnoch)  means  literally  the  initiator  and  instructor,  hence 
the  Hieroi)liant  who  reveals  the  Inst  nn/stcrif.  The  bird  Pluenix  is  al- 
ways associated  with  a  tree,  the  mystical  Ahdbrl  of  the  Koran,  the  Tdk 
of  Initiation  or  of  knowledge. 

Onnofre  or  Oim-nofre  (Eg.).  The  Kinir  of  the  land  of  the  Dead, 
the  Underworld,  and  in  this  capacity  the  same  as  Osiris,  "who  resides  in 
Amenti  at  Oun-nefer,  king  of  eternity,  great  god  manifested  in  the 
celestial  aby.ss".     (A  hymn  of  the  XlXtli  dynasty).  (See  also  "Osiris"). 

Ophanim  (Hth.).  ]\lore  con-ectly  written  Auphanim.  The  "wheels" 
.seen  \)\  Kzfkiel  and  by  John  in  the  Revelation — world-spheres  (Secret 
Doctrine  1..  92).  Tlie  symbol  of  the  Cherubs  or  Karoubs  (the  AssATian 
Sphinxes).  As  these  beings  are  represented  in  the  Zodiac  by  Taurus. 
Leo,  Scorpio  and  Aquarius,  or  the  Bull,  the  Lion,  the  Eagle  and  ]\Ian. 
the  occult  meaning  of  these  creatures  being  placed  in  company  of  the 
four  Evangelists  becomes  evident.  In  the  Kabbalah  they  are  a  group 
of  beings  allotted  to  the  Sephira  Chakmah,  Wisdom. 

Ophis  (Gr.).  The  same  as  Chnuphis  or  Knrph,  the  Logos;  the  good 
serpent  or  Agathodaemon. 

Ophiomorphos  (Gr.).  The  same,  but  in  its  material  aspect,  as  the 
Ophis-Christos.  With  the  Gnostics  the  Serpent  represented  "Wisdom 
in  Eternity". 

Ophis-Christos  ((h-.).     The  serpent  Christ  of  the  Gnostics. 

Ophiozenes  (Gr.).  The  name  of  the  C^'priote  charmers  of  veno- 
mous serpents  and  other  reptiles  and  animals. 

Ophites  (Gr.).  A  Gnostic  Fraternity  in  Egyj)t,  and  one  of  the 
earliest  sects  of  Gnosticism,  or  Gnosis  (Wisdom,  Knowledge),  known  as 
the  "Brotherhood  of  the  Serpent".  It  flourished  early  in  the  second 
century,  and  while  holding  some  of  the  principles  of  Valentinus  had 
its  own  occult  rites  and  symbology.  A  living  serpent,  representing  the 
r/frwf (>.s-principle  {i.e.,  the  divine  reincarnating  ]Monad,  not  Jesus  the 
man),  was  disj)layed  in  their  mysteries  and  reverenced  as  a  symbol  of 
wisdom,  Sophia,  the  type  of  the  all-good  and  all-wi.se.  The  Gnostics  were 
not  a  Cliristian  sect,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  this  term,  as  th'e 
C^hristos  of  pre-Christian  thought  and  the  Gnosis  was  not  the  "god-man" 
Christ,  but  the  divine  Ego,  made  one  with  Buddiii.  Their  Christos  Avas 
the  "Eternal  Initiate",  the  Pilgrim,  typified  by  hundreds  of  Ophidian 
symbols  for  several  thousands  of  vears  before  the  "Christian"  era,  so- 


224  THKOSOPIIUAL 

calK'd.  Oiii-  can  Sfc  it  on  the  "Belzoiii  toinl)"  from  Kf:yi)t,  as  a  u'ingid 
svrprnt  with  Ihne  hiads  ( Atiiia-BiuMlii -.Maiias).  and  four  human  lepra, 
typifyinfr  its  aii(ln»^ynous  I'liaractt-r ;  on  the  walls  of  the  (Icst'cnt  to  the 
s,>puk'hral  chamlnTs  of  Kamcscs  V.,  it  is  found  as  a  snake  with  vulture's 
wings — the  vulture  and  hawk  beinp  solar  symbols.  "The  heavens  are 
scribbled  over  with  interminable  snakes";  writes  Ilersehel  of  the  p]gypt- 
ian  chart  of  stars.  "The  MtLfsi  (Messiah?)  meanin<j  the  Sacrrd  Word, 
was  a  «rood  serpent",  writes  Honwick  in  his  K(/np(itin  Jitlu  f.  "This  ser- 
pent of  {Toodne.ss.  with  its  head  crowned,  was  mounted  upon  a  cross  and 
formed  a  sacred  standard  of  Egypt".  The  Jews  borrowed  it  in  their 
"brazen  .serpent  of  Moses".  It  is  to  this  "Healer"  and  "Saviour", 
therefore,  tiiat  the  Ophites  referred,  and  not  to  Jesus  or  his  words,  "As 
Moses  liftt'd  up  the  serpent  in  the  desert,  so  it  behoves  the  Son  of  Man 
to  i)e  lifted  ui>" — when  exjdaininp:  the  meaning  of  their  ophis.  Tertul- 
lian.  whether  wittingly  or  unwittingly,  mixed  up  the  two.  The  four- 
winged  serpent  is  the  god  Chnu])liis.  The  good  .serpent  bore  the  cross 
of  life  around  its  neck,  or  suspended  from  its  mouth.  The  winged  ser- 
j)ents  become  the  Seraphim  (Seraph,  Saraph)  of  the  Jews,  In  the  87th 
chapter  of  the  Ritual  (the  Book  of  tlie  Dead)  the  human  soul  trans- 
formed into  Btita,  the  omniscient  serpent,  says: — "I  am  the  serpent 
Ba-ta.  of  long  years.  Soul  of  the  Soul,  laid  out  and  born  daily;  I  am  the 
Soul  that  descends  on  the  earth",  i.e.,  the  Ego. 

Orai  (Or.).  The  name  of  the  angel-ruler  of  Venus,  according  to  the 
Egyptian   Gnostics. 

Orcus    (Or.).     The  bottomless  pit   in  the   Codex  of  the   Nazarenes. 

Orgelmir  (Scund.).  Lit.,  "seething  clay".  The  same  as  Ymir, 
Tile  giant,  the  unruly,  turbulent,  erratic  being,  the  type  of  primordial 
matter,  out  of  wlio.se  body,  after  killing  him,  the  sons  of  Bor  created  a 
new  earth.  lie  is  also  the  cause  of  the  Deluge  in  the  Scandinavian  Lays, 
for  he  flung  his  body  into  Ginnungagap,  the  yawning  abyss ;  the  latter 
being  filled  with  it,  the  blood  flowed  over  and  produced  a  great  flood  in 
which  all  the  Ilrimthurses,  the  frost  giants,  were  drowned ;  one  of  them 
only  the  cunning  Bergelmir  .saves  himself  and  wife  in  a  boat  and  became 
the  father  of  a  new  race  of  giants.  "And  there  were  giants  on  the 
earth  in  those  days". 

Orion  (Or.).  The  same  as  Atlas,  who  supj^orts  tlie  world  on  his 
shoulders. 

Orlog  (Scand.).  Fate,  destin.w  whose  agents  wci-c  the  three  Norns, 
the  \orse  Parca. 

Ormazd  or  Ahura  Mazda  (Zend).  The  god  of  the  Zoroastrians  or 
the  modern  Parsis.  He  is  .symbolized  by  the  sun,  as  being  the  Light  of 
Lights.  Esoterically,  he  is  the  synthesis  of  his  six  Amshaspcnds  or 
Elohim,  and  the  creative  Logos.  In  the  Mazdoan  exoteric  system,  Ahura 
Mazda  is  the  supreme  god,  and  one  with  the  supreme  god  of  the  Vedic 
age — Variina,  if  we  read  the  Vedas  literallv. 


(iLOSSAKV  225 

Orpheus  <Gr.).  Lit.,  the  "tawny  one".  Mytholofry  makes  liim 
til.-  soil  of  ^T^]afrer  and  the  muse  Calliope.  Esoterie  tradition  iih-ntitics 
him  with  Arjuna,  the  son  of  Indra  and  the  disciple  of  Krishna.  lie  went 
round  the  world  teaching  the  nations  wisdom  and  .sciences,  and  es- 
tablishing mysteries.  The  very  story  of  his  losing  his  Eurydice  and 
finding  her  in  the  underworld  or  Hades,  is  another  point  of  resemblance 
with  the  story  of  Arjuna,  who  goes  to  Patala  {Hach  s  or  hell,  but  in 
reality  the  Antipoch s  or  America)  and  finds  there  and  marries  Ilui)i,  the 
daughter  of  the  Nilga  king.  This  is  as  suggestive  as  the  fact  that  he 
was  considered  dark  in  complexion  even  by  the  Greeks,  who  were  never 
very  fair-skinned  themselves. 

Orphic  Mysteries  or  Orphica  (Or.).  These  followt-d,  but  dif- 
fered greatly  from,  the  my-steries  of  Bacchus.  The  system  of  Orpheus 
is  one  of  the  purest  morality  and  of  severe  asceticism.  The  theology 
taught  by  him  is  again  purely  Indian.  With  him  the  divine  Essence  is 
inseparable  from  wliatever  is  in  the  infinite  universe,  all  forms  being 
concealed  from  all  eternity  in  It.  At  determined  periods  these  forms  are 
manifested  from  the  divine  Essence  or  manifest  themselves.  Thus 
through  this  law  of  emanation  (or  evolution)  all  things  participate  in 
this  Essence,  and  are  parts  and  members  instinct  with  divine  nature, 
which  is  omnipresent.  All  things  having  proceeded  from,  must  neces- 
sarily return  into  it;  and  therefore,  innumerable  transmigrations  or  re- 
incarnations and  purifications  are  needed  before  this  final  consummation 
<'an  take  place.  This  is  pure  Vedanta  philo.sophy.  Again,  the  Orphic 
Brotherhood  ate  no  animal  food  and  wore  white  linen  garments,  and  had 
many  ceremonies  like  those  of  the  Brahmans. 

Oshadi  Prastha  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  place  of  medicinal  herbs".  A 
mysterious  city  in  the  Himalayas  mentioned  even  from  the  Vedic  period. 
Tradition  shows  it  as  once  inhabited  by  sages,  great  adepts  in  the  healing 
art,  who  used  oidy  herbs  and  plants,  as  did  the  ancient  Chaldees.  The 
i'ity  is  mentioned  in  the  Kumdra  Sarnhhava  of  Kalidasa. 

Osiris.  (Eg.).  The  greatest  God  of  Egypt,  the  Son  of  Seb  (Saturn), 
celestial  fire,  and  of  Neith,  i)rimordial  matter  and  infinite  space.  This 
shows  him  as  the  self-(>xistent  and  self-ercated  god,  the  first  manifesting 
deity  (our  third  Logos),  identical  with  Ahura  ]\la7.da  and  other  "First 
Causes".  For  as  Ahura  ^Mazda  is  one  with,  or  the  synthesis  of,  the 
Ara.shaspends,  so  Osiris,  the  collective  unit,  when  differentiated  and  per- 
sonified, becomes  Typhon,  his  brother,  Isis  and  Nephtys  his  sisters, 
ITorus  his  son  and  his  other  aspects.  II.»  was  born  at  ]Mount  Sinai,  the 
Nyssa  of  the  0.  T.  (See  Exodus  xvii.  1.1),  and  buried  at  Abydns.  after 
being  killed  by  Typhon  at  tlu^  early  age  of  twenty-eight,  according  to  the 
allegory.  According  to  Pairipides  he  is  the  sanu'  as  Zeus  and  Dionysos 
or  Dio-Nysos  "the  god  of  Nysa".  for  Osiris  is  said  by  him  to  have  been 
brought  up  in  Nysa,  in  Arabia  "the  Happy".  Query:  how  much  did 
the  latter  tradition   influence,   or  have   anything   in   common   with,   the 


226  riiKDSoi'JiicAi. 

statfiiu'iit  ill  tilt'  liild.'.  that  "Mosi-s  built  an  altar  aiul  calU'd  the  name 
Jehovah  \ussi",  or  Kahhalistifally — "Dio-lao-Nyssi"?  ( Sie  Isis  Un- 
vdlrd  Vol.  II.  p.  Ki.")).  Thf  foni'  chiff  a.spt-cts  of  Osiris  were — Osiris- 
Phtah  (Lijrhti,  tin-  sjtiritual  aspt-ct ;  Osiris-llorus  (Mind),  the  intel- 
lectual ituimisu  aspect:  ( )siris-Ijuniis.  tin-  "Lunar"  or  i)sychic.  astral 
aspect;  Osiris-Typlion.  Dainionic,  oi-  physical,  nuiterial.  therefore 
passional  turhulent  aspect.  In  tlie.se  four  aspects  he  symbolizes  the  dual 
Kgo — till'  divine  and  tlii'  liiiiiiaii.  tlir  eosniico  spii'itual  and  tlie  ti-r- 
restrial. 

Of  the  many  supreiiic  }i:nds,  tliis  I'l^^yptian  eoiicipt  idii  is  thf  most  su^r- 
{jfestive  and  the  «rrandest.  as  it  embraces  the  whole  ranj;e  of  j)liysical  an<l 
metajdiysical  thoujriit.  As  a  solar  deity  he  hail  twelve  minor  t;ods  under 
him — the  twelve  sijjns  of  the  Zodiac.  Tliou<rh  his  name  is  the  "Inef- 
fable", his  forty-two  attributes  bore  each  one  of  his  names,  and  his  seven 
dual  aspects  completed  the  forty-nine,  oi-  7X7;  the  former  symbolized 
by  the  fourteen  members  of  his  body,  or  twice  seven.  Thus  the  f»od  is 
blended  in  man,  and  the  man  is  deified  into  a  j;od.  He  was  addres.sed 
as  Osiris-Eloh.  Mr.  Dunbar  T.  Ileatli  si)eaks  of  a  Phu'iiician  inscription 
which,  when  read,  yieldi'd  the  followinjr  tuniular  insci-ii)tion  in  honour  of 
the  mummy:  "Bles.sed  be  Ta-Bai.  daughter  of  Ta-IIapi.  i)riest  of  Osiris- 
Eloh.  She  did  nothing  against  any  one  in  anger.  She  spoke  no  false- 
hood against  any  one.  Justified  before  Osiris,  blessed  be  thou  from  b«'- 
fore  Osiris!  Peace  be  to  thee".  And  then  Ik^  adds  the  following  re- 
marks: "The  author  of  this  inscription  ought,  I  suppose,  to  be  called  a 
heathen,  as  justification  before  Osiris  is  the  object  of  his  religious  asi>ira- 
tions.  AVe  find,  however,  that  lie  gives  to  Osiris  the  ai)pellation  Eloh. 
Eloh  is  the  name  used  by  the  Ten  Tribes  of  Israel  for  the  Elohim  of 
Two  Tribes,  Jehovah-Eloh  (Goi.  iii.  21),  in  the  version  used  by  Ephraim 
corresponds  to  Jehovah  Elohim  in  that  used  l)y  Judah  and  ourselves. 
This  being  so,  the  question  is  sure  to  ])e  asked,  and  ought  to  be  humbly 
answered — What  was  the  meaning  meant  to  be  conveyed  by  the  two 
phrases  respectively,  Osiris-Eloh  and  J(  hovah-Eloh  /  For  my  i)art  I 
can  imagine  but  one  answer,  viz.,  that  Osiris  was  the  national  God  of 
Egypt,  Jehovah  that  of  Israel,  and  that  Eloh  is  equivalent  to  Dcus,  Gott 
or  Dim".  As  to  his  human  development,  he  is,  as  the  author  of  the 
Egi/ptifui  Bclirf  has  it  .  .  .  "One  of  the  Saviours  or  l')eliverers  of 
Humanity  ....  As  such  he  is  born  in  the  world.  He  came  as  a 
benefactor,  to  relieve  man  of  trouble  ....  In  his  efforts  to  do 
good  he  encounters  evil  .     .     and  he  is  temporarily  overcome.     He 

is  killed  .  .  Osiris  is  buried.  His  tomb  was  the  object  of 
pilgrimage  for  thousands  of  years.  But  he  did  not  rest  in  his  grave. 
At  the  end  of  throe  days,  or  forty,  he  rose  again  and  ascended  to  Heaven. 
This  is  the  story  of  his  Humanity"  {Egi/pt.  Belief).  And  Mariette  Bey. 
.speaking  of  the  Sixth  Dynasty,  tells  us  that  "the  name  of  O.siris  .  .  . 
commences  to  be  more  used.  The  formula  of  Justified  is  met  with" :  and 
adds  that  "it  proves  that  this  name   (of  thr  Justified  or  Mnkheru)  was 


r.LOSSARY 


227 


not  given  to  tiie  dead  only"'.  But  it  also  prows  that  the  legend  of 
Christ  was  found  ready  in  almost  all  its  details  thousands  of  years  before 
the  Christian  era,  and  that  the  Church  fathers  had  no  greater  difificulty 
tlian  to  simply  ajjply  it  to  a  new  personage, 

Ossa.  (dr.).    A  iiKiunt.  tlic  torn!)  of  the  giants  (alk^gorically  ). 

Otz-Chiim.  f//^6j.  Tlic  Tree  of  Life,  or  rather  of  Lives,  a  name 
given  to  the  Ten  Sephirotli  when  arranged  in  a  diagram  of  three  eolumns. 

I  W.W.W.] 

Oulam,  or  Onloni  (IlrbJ.  This  word  iloes  not  mean  "eternity"  or 
infinite  duration,  as  translated  in  the  texts,  but  simply  an  extended 
time,  neither  the  beginning  nor  the  end  of  which  can  be  known. 

Ouranos  (Grj.  The  whole  expanse  of  Heaven  called  the  '"Waters 
of  Space",  the  Celestial  Ocean,  etc.  The  name  very  likely  comes  from 
the  Vedic  Varuna,  personified  as  the  water  god  and  regarded  as  the 
chief  Aditya  among  the  seven  planetary  deities.  In  Hesiod's  Theogonv. 
Ouranos  (or  Uranus)  is  the  same  as  Caliis  (Heavenly)  the  oldest  of  all 
the  gods  and  the  father  of  the  divine  Titans. 


228  TnKi)Soi'Hi(  Ai. 


P. 


1  •  — Tile  UUli  letter  ill  l)()tli  tile  Greek  ami  the  Kiifzlish  aiphaheis,  and 
the  17th  ill  the  Ilehrew.  when'  it  is  called  pe  or  p(i}i,  aiul  is  symbolized 
liy  the  month,  eorrespondiii}]:  also,  as  in  tlie  Greek  ali)hal)et,  to  number 
80.  The  Pythagoreans  also  made  it  equivalent  to  100,  and  with  a  dash — 
thus  (P),  it  stood  for  400,000.  The  Kabbalists  associated  with  it  the 
sacred  name  of  Vhoihh  (Redeemer),  thoujrli  no  valid  reason  is  jriveii 
for  it. 

P  and  Cross,  ealled  {reiierally  the  Labarum  of  Constaiitine.  It  was. 
however,  one  of  the  oldest  emblems  in  Etruria  before  the  Roman  Empire. 
It  was  also  the  sign  of  Osiris.  Both  the  long  Latin  and  the  Greek  pec- 
toral crosses  are  Egyptian,  the  former  being  very  often  seen  in  the  hand 
of  Horus.  "The  cross  and  Calvary  so  common  in  Europe,  occurs  on  the 
breasts  of  mummies"  (Bonwick). 

Pachacamac  (Pcruv.).  The  name  given  by  the  Peruvians  to  the 
Creatoj-  of  the  Universe,  represented  as  a  host  of  creators.  On  his  altar 
unl.\-  tile  first-fruits  and  flowers  were  laid  by  the  pious. 

Pacis  Bull.  The  divine  Bull  of  Ilermonthes,  sacred  to  Amoun- 
Horus,  the  Bull  Netos  of  Heliopolis  being  sacred  to  Amoun-Ra. 

Padarthas  (Sk.).  Predicates  of  existing  things;  so-ealled  in  the 
\'(i{sts)iika  or  "atomic"  system  of  philosophy  founded  by  Kanada.  This 
school  is  one  of  the  six  Darshanas. 

Padma  fSk.).  The  Lotus;  a  name  of  Lakslimi  the  Tlindu  Venus, 
who  is  the  unfr,  or  the  female  aspect,  of  Vishnu. 

Padma  Asana  (Sk.).  A  posture  prescribed  to  and  practised  by 
some  Yogis  for  developing  concentration. 

Padma  Kalpa  (Sk.).  The  name  of  the  last  Kalpa  or  the  preceding 
Manvantara,  which  was  a  year  of  Brahma. 

Padma  Yoni  (Sk.).  A  title  of  Brahma  (also  called  Abjayoni),  or 
the  "lotus-born". 

Psean  (Gr.J.  A  hymn  of  re.ioieing  and  i)rais<'  in  honour  of  the  sun- 
god  Apollo  or  Helios. 

Pagan  (Lat.).  Meaning  at  first  no  worse  than  a  dweller  in  the 
country  or  the  woods ;  one  far  removed  from  the  city-temples,  and  there- 
fore unacquainted  with  the  state  religion  and  ceremonies.  The  word 
"heathen"  has  a  similar  significance,  meaning  one  who  lives  on  the 
heaths  and  in  the  country.    Now,  however,  both  come  to  mean  idolaters. 

Pagan   Gods.     The   term   is   erroneously  understood   to  mean   idols. 


GLOSSARY  229 

The  philosophical  idea  attached  to  tliem  was  never  that  of  something 
objective  or  anthropomorphic,  but  in  each  case  an  abstract  potency,  a 
virtue,  or  quality  in  nature.  There  are  gods  who  are  divine  planetary 
spirits  (Dhyan  Chohans)  or  Devas,  among  which  are  also  our  Egos. 
With  this  exception,  and  especially  whenever  represented  by  an  idol  or 
in  anthropomorphic  form,  tlie  gods  represent  symbolically  in  tlie  Hindu, 
Eg}-ptian,  or  Chaldean  Pantheons — formless  spiritual  Potencies  of  the 
"Unseen  Kosmos". 

Pahans  (Prakrit).     Village  priest. 

Paksham  (Sk.).  An  a.stronomical  calculation:  one  half  of  the  lunar 
month  or  14  days;  two  paksham  (or  paccham)  making  a  month  of  mor- 
tals, but  only  a  day  of  the  Pitar  devata  or  the  "father-gods". 

Palaeolithic.  A  newly-coined  term  meaning  in  geologj'  "anoient 
stone"  age,  as  a  contrast  to  the  term  neolithic,  the  "newer"  or  later 

stone  age. 

Palasa  Tn(  (Sk.).  Called  also  Kanaka  (hutca  frondosa)  a  tree 
with  red  flowers  of  very  occult  properties. 

Pali.  The  ancient  language  of  ^Magadha.  one  that  preceded  the  more 
rctined  Sanskrit.  The  Buddhist  Scriptures  are  all  written  in  this  lan- 
guage. 

Palingenesis   (Gr.).     Transformation;  or  new  birth. 

Pan  (Or.).  The  nature-god,  whence  Pantheism;  the  god  of  sliep- 
herds,  huntsmen,  peasants,  and  dwellers  on  the  land.  Homer  makes  him 
the  son  of  Hermes  and  Dryope.  His  name  means  All.  He  was  the 
inventor  of  the  Pandiean  pipes;  and  no  nymph  who  heard  their  sound 
could  resist  the  fascination  of  the  great  Pan,  his  grotesque  figure  not- 
withstanding. Pan  is  related  to  the  Mendesian  goat,  only  so  far  as  the 
latter  represents,  as  a  talisman  of  great  occult  potency,  nature's  creative 
force.  The  whole  of  the  Hermetic  philosophy  is  based  on  nature's 
hidden  secrets,  and  as  Baphomet  was  undeniably  a  Kabbalistic  talisman, 
so  was  the  name  of  Pan  of  great  magic  etficiency  in  what  Eliphas  Levi 
would  call  the  "Conjuration  of  the  Elementals".  There  is  a  well-known 
pious  legend  which  has  ])een  current  in  the  Christian  world  ever  since 
the  day  of  Tiberias,  to  the  eiTect  that  the  "great  Pan  is  dead'\  But 
people  are  greatly  mistaken  in  this;  neither  nature  nor  any  of  her 
Forces  can  ever  die.  A  few  of  these  may  be  left  unused,  and  being 
forgotten  lie  dormant  for  long  centuries.  But  no  sooner  are  the  proper 
I'oiiditions  furnished  than  they  awake,  to  act  again  with  tenfold  power. 

Panaenus  {dr.).  A  Platonic  ])hiloso]iher  in  the  Alexandrian  school 
of  Philaletheans. 

Pancha  Kosha  f'Sk.).  The  live  ••sheaths".  According  to  Vedan- 
tin  j)hilosoph>-.  \'ijnanamaya  Kosha,  the  fourth  sheath,  is  composed  of 
Buddhi.  or  i.^  Buddhi.  The  five  sheaths  are  said  to  belong  to  tht^  two 
higher  i^rineiplcs — Jivdinia  and  Sak.'ihi.  which  represent  the  Upahiia  and 


230  THEOSOPHICAL 

An-iipahita,  diviiit-  spirit  ivspcctivi'ly.  Tlit-  tlivisiuii  in  the  esoteric 
teaehiiif;  differs  from  tliis.  as  it  divides  man's  pli>sieal-metaphysical 
aspect  into  seveji  principles. 

Pancha  Krishtaya  (Sk.).     The  live  races. 

Panchakama    iSk.i.      l-'ivr    metiiods  of  sensuousness  and   sensuality. 

Panchakritam  (Skj.  An  element  combined  with  small  portions 
of   the    other    four   elements. 

Panchama  (Sk.).  One  of  the  firr  qualities  of  musical  sound,  the 
tifth,  Xishada  and  Daivata  com])letinn:  the  seven;  G  of  the  diatonic 
scale. 

Panchanana  (Sk.).  "Five-faced",  a  title  of  Sive ;  an  illusion  to 
the  tive  races  (since  the  befrinninf]:  of  thy  fir.ft)  wiiicli  he  represents,  as 
the  even  reincarnatinj]:  Kunuira  throughout  the  IManvantara.  .  In  the 
sixth  root-race  he  will  l)e  called  the  "six-faced". 

Panchasikha  (Sk.).  One  of  the  seven  Kumaras  who  went  to  pay 
worslii])  to  Vishnu  on  the  island  of  Swetadwipa  in  the  allegory. 

Panchen  Rimboche  (Tib.).  Lit.,  "the  great  Ocean,  or  Teacher 
of  Wisdom".  The  title  of  the  Teshu  Lama  at  Tchigadze ;  an  incarna- 
tion of  Amitabha  the  celestial  "father"  of  Chenresi,  which  means  to  say 
that  he  is  an  Avatar  of  Tson-kha-pa  (See  "Sonkhapa").  De  jure  the 
Teshu  Lama  is  second  after  the  Delai  Lama ;  de  facto,  he  is  higher,  since 
it  is  Dharma  Richen,  the  successor  of  Tson-kha-i)a  at  the  golden  monas- 
tery founded  by  the  latter  Reformer  and  estal)lished  by  the  Gelukpa  sect 
(yellow  caps),  who  created  the  Dalai'  Lamas  at  Llhassa,  and  was  the  first 
of  the  dynasty  of  the  "Panchen  Rimboche".  While  the  former  (Dala'i 
Lamas)  are  addressed  as  "Jewel  of  Majesty",  the  latter  enjoy  a  far 
higher  title,  namely  "Jewel  of  Wisdom",  as  they  are  high  Initiates. 

Pandavarani  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  "Pandava  Queen";  Kunti,  the 
mother  of  the  Pandavas.  (All  these  are  highly  important  personified 
symbols  in  esoteric  philosophy). 

Pandavas  (Sk.).     The  descendants  of  Pandu. 

Pandora  (Or.).  A  beautiful  wonuin  created  by  the  gods  under  the 
orders  of  Zeus  to  be  sent  to  Epimetheus,  brother  of  Prometheus;  she 
had  charge  of  a  casket  in  which  all  the  evils,  passions  and  plagues  which 
torment  humanity  were  locked  up.  This  casket  Pandora,  led  by  curi- 
osit>-.  opened,  and  thus  set  free  all  the  ills  which  prey  on  mankind. 

Pandu  (Sk.).  "The  Pale",  literally;  the  father  of  the  Pandavas 
Princes,  the  foes  of  the  Kurava  in  the  Mahabhdrata. 

Panini  (Sk.).  A  celebrated  grammarian,  author  of  the  famous 
work  called  Fdnimyama;  a  Rishi,  supposed  to  have  received  his  work 
from  the  god  Siva.  Ignorant  of  the  epoch  at  which  he  lived,  tlie  Orien- 
talists place  his  date  between  600  b.c  and  300  a.d. 

Pantacle  (Gr.).  The  same  as  Pcntalpha;  the  triple  triangle  of 
Pythagoras  or  the  five-pointed  star.     Tt  was  given  the  name  because  it 


CLOSSAKV  231 

reproduces  the  letter  A  (alpha)  on  the  five  sides  of  it  or  in  five  diflPereut 
positions — its  number,  moreover,  being:  composed  of  the  first  odd  (3) 
and  the  first  even  (2)  numbers.  It  is  very  occult.  In  Occultism  and  the 
Kabala  it  stands  for  max  or  tin*  ^Microcosm,  the  "Heavenly  Man",  and 
as  such  it  was  a  powerful  talisman  for  keepinjr  at  bay  evil  s])irits  or  the 
Elementals.  In  Christian  theology  it  refers  to  the  five  wounds  of  Christ ; 
its  interpreters  failing,  however,  to  add  that  the.se  "five  wounds"  were 
themselves  symbolical  of  the  Microcosm,  or  the  "Little  Universe'',  or 
again.  Humanity,  this  symbol  pointinfr  out  the  fall  of  pure  Spirit 
(Christos)  into  matter  {lassous,  "life",  or  man).  In  esoteric  philosophy 
the  Pentalphd,  or  five-pointed  star,  is  the  symbol  of  the  P]go  or  the 
Higher  Manas.  Masons  use  it,  referring  to  it  as  the  five-pointed  star, 
and  connecting  it  with  their  own  fanciful  interpretation.  (See  the 
word  "Pontacle"  for  its  difference  in  meaning  from  "Pantacle"). 

Pantheist.  One  who  identifies  God  with  Nature  and  vic(  versa. 
Pantheism  is  often  objected  to  by  people  and  regarded  as  reprehensible. 
But  how  can  a  philosopher  regard  Deity  as  infinite,  omnipresent  and 
eternal  unless  Nature  is  an  aspect  of  IT,  and  IT  informs  every  atom  in 

Nature  ? 

Panther  (Ihhj.  Aeeording  to  the  S( pinr  Toldush  Jishii,  one  of 
the  so-called  Apocryphal  Jewish  Gospels,  Jesus  was  the  son  of  Joseph 
Panther  and  ]\Iary,  hence  Ben  Panther.  Tradition  makes  of  Panther  a 
Roman   soldier,      [w.w.w.] 

Papa-purusha  (SkJ.  Lit.,  "^lan  of  Sin":  the  j^ersouitieation  in 
a  liumau  form  of  every  wickedness  and  sin.  Esoterically,  one  who  is  re- 
born, or  reincarnated  from  the  state  of  Avitchi — hence,  "Soulless". 

Para  (Sk.).  "Infinite"  and  "supreme"  in  philosophy — the  final 
limit.  Parani  is  tlie  end  and  goal  of  existence;  Parfipura  is  the  l)nundary 
of  boundaries. 

Parabrahm  (Sk.).  "Beyond  Brahma",  literally.  The  Supreme 
Infinite  Bralnna,  "Absolute" — the  attributeless,  the  secondless  reality. 
Tile  imj)!  rsonal  and  nameless  universal  Principle. 

Paracelsus.  The  symbolical  name  adoi)te(l  by  the  ^a-eatest  Oc- 
cultist of  the  middle  ages — Philip  Bombastes  Aureolus  Theophrastus 
von  Hohenheim — born  in  the  canton  of  Zurich  in  1493.  He  was  the 
cleverest  physician  of  his  age,  and  the  most  renowned  for  curing  almost 
any  illness  by  tiie  power  of  talisnuuis  prepared  by  himself.  He  never 
had  a  friend,  but  was  surrounded  by  i-nemies,  the  most  bitter  of  whom 
were  the  Churchmen  and  their  {lai-ty.  That  lie  was  accused  of  being  in 
league  with  the  devil  stands  to  reason,  nor  is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that 
finally  he  was  murdered  by  some  unknown  foe,  at  the  early  age  of  forty- 
eight.  He  died  at  Salzburg,  leaving  a  iniml)er  of  works  behind  him, 
which  are  to  this  day  greatly  valued  l)y  the  Kabbalists  and  Occultists. 
Many  of  liis  utterances  have  proved  prophetic.  He  was  a  clairvoyant  of 
great   powers,  one  of  the  most   Ii'mtikmI   ;in«l   i-rudite   philos<)i>lit'rs  and 


232  THEUSOPHK  Al, 

mystics,  and  a  distiiiguislu'd  Alelu'inist.  I'liysirs  is  indebted  to  liiiii  for 
tlif  discovery  of  nitrogen  gas,  or  Azot( . 

Paradha  (Sk.).     The  period  of  one-half  llie  A<,'t'  of  liralima. 

Parama  (Sk.).    The  "one  Supreme". 

Paramapadatmava  (Sk.).  Beyond  tlu-  (■oiiditidii  of  Spirit.  •Mipi-i  nu  r"" 
tliiiii  Spiiii,  liDi'di  ring  on  the  Ah.solute. 

Paramapadha  (Sk.).  The  ]>hiee  where — according  to  Visislitad- 
waita  Vedantins— l)liss  i.s  enjoyed  by  those  who  reach  Moksha  (Bliss). 
Tliis  "place"  is  not  material  Init  niade,  says  the  Catechism  of  that  sect, 
"of  Suddhasatwa,  the  essence  of  whicii  tiie  body  of  Iswara",  the  lord, 
"is  made". 

Paramapaha  (Sk.).     A  state  whieh  is  already  a  conditional  existence. 

Paramartha  (Sk.).     Absolute  existence. 

Paramarthika  (Sk.l.  The  one  true  state  of  existence  according 
to  Vedanta. 

Paramarshis  (Sk.).  Composed  of  two  words:  parama,  "siipn'me", 
and  J\isliis.  or  supreme  Rishis; — Saints. 

Paramatman  (Sk.).     The  Supreme  Soul  of  the  T'niverse. 

Paranellatons.  In  ancient  Astronomy  the  name  was  applied  to  cer- 
tain stars  and  constellations  whicli  are  extra  Zodiacal,  lying  above 
and  below  the  constellations  of  the  Zodiac;  they  were  36  in  number: 
allotted  to  the  Decans,  or  one-third  parts  of  each  sign.  The  paranella- 
tons ascend  or  descend  with  the  Decans  alternately,  thus  when  Scorpio 
rises,  Orion  in  its  parauellaton  sets,  also  Auriga ;  this  gave  rise  to  the 
fable  that  tiie  hor.ses  of  Phaeton,  the  Sun,  were  frightened  by  a  Scorpion, 
and  the  Charioteer  fell  into  the  River  Po ;  that  is  the  constellation  of  the 
Eridanus  which  lies  below  Auriga  the  star,    [w.w.w.] 

Paranirvana  (Sk.).  Absolute  Non-Being,  which  is  equivalent 
to  ab.solute  Being  or  "Be-ness",  the  state  reached  by  the  human  Monad 
at  the  end  of  the  great  cycle  (See  Secret  Doctrine  I.  135).  The  same  as 
Paranishpanna. 

Parasakti  (Sk.).  "The  great  Force" — one  of  the  six  Forces  of 
Nature  ;  tliat  of  light  and  heat. 

Parasara  (Sk.).    A  Yedic  Rishi,  the  narrator  of  Vishnu  Purdna. 

Paratantra  (Sk.).  That  which  has  no  existence  of,  or  by  itself, 
hut  onl>-  through  a  dependent  or  causal  connection. 

Paroksha  (Sk.).    Intellectual  apprehension  of  a  truth. 

Parsees.  Written  also  Parsis.  The  followers  of  Zoroaster.  This  is 
the  name  given  to  the  remnant  of  the  once-powerful  Iranian  nation, 
which  remained  true  to  the  religion  of  its  forefathers — the  fire-worship. 
This  remnant  now  dwells  in  India,  some  50,000  strong,  mostly  in  Bom- 
bav  and  Guwrat. 


GLOSSARY  233 

Pasa  (8k.).  Tlie  crucifixion  noose  of  Siva,  tlie  noose  lield  in  his 
rijLflit  hand  in  some  of  his  representations. 

Paschalis,  Martinez.  A  very  h-anied  man,  a  mystic  and  occultist. 
Born  about  1700,  in  Portugal.  He  travelled  extensively,  acquiring 
knowledge  wherever  he  could  in  the  East,  in  Turkey,  Palestine.  Arabia, 
and  Central  Asia.  He  was  a  great  Kabbalist.  He  was  the  teacher  of 
the  Initiator  of  the  ]Marquis  de  St.  ^Martin,  who  founded  the  mystical 
Martinistic  School  and  Lodges.  Paschalis  is  reported  to  have  died  in 
St.  Domingo  about  1779,  leaving  several  excellent  works  behind  him. 

Pasht  (Eg.).  The  cat-headed  goddess,  the  Moon,  called  also  Sckhd. 
Her  statues  and  representations  are  seen  in  great  numbers  at  the  British 
Museum.  She  is  the  wife  or  female  aspect  of  Ptah  (the  son  of  Kneph), 
the  creative  principle,  or  the  Egy])tian  Demiurgus.  She  is  also  called 
Besrt  or  Bi(hastis,  being  then  both  the  re-uniting  and  the  separating 
principle.  Her  motto  is:  "punish  tlie  guilty  and  remove  defilement", 
and  one  of  her  emblems  is  the  cat.  According  to  Viscount  Rouge,  her 
worsliip  is  extremely  ancient  (b.c.  3000),  and  she  is  the  mother  of  the 
Asiatic  race,  the  race  that  settled  in  Northern  Egypt.  As  such  she  is 
called  Ouato. 

Pashut  (Hch.).  "Literal  int('r])retation."  One  of  the  four  modes 
of  interpreting  the  Bible  used  by  the  Jews. 

Pashyanti  (Sk.).  The  second  of  the  four  degre«'S  fPara, 
Pashyanti,  IMadhyama  and  Vaikhari),  in  which  sound  is  divided  accord- 
ing to  its  differentiation. 

Pass  not,  The  Ring.  Tlie  circle  within  which  are  confined  all  those 
who  still  labour  under  the  delusion  of  separateness. 

Passing  of  the  River  (Kab.).  This  phrase  may  be  met  with 
in  works  referring  to  nicdian'al  magic:  it  is  the  name  given  to  a  cypher 
alphabet  used  by  Kabbalistic  Rabbis  at  an  early  date;  the  river  alluded 
to  is  the  Chebar — the  name  will  also  be  found  in  Latin  authors  as  Litera? 
Transitus.  [w.w.w.] 

Pastophori  (Or.).  A  certain  class  of  candidates  for  initiation, 
those  who  bore  in  public  processions  (and  also  in  the  temples)  the  sacred 
coffin  or  funeral  couch  of  the  Sun-gods — killed  and  resurrected,  of 
Osiris,  Tammuz  (or  Adonis),  of  Atys  and  others.  The  Christians 
adopted  their  coffin  from  the  pagans  of  antiquity. 

Patala  (Sk.).  The  nether  world,  the  antipodes;  hence  in  popular 
superstition  the  infernal  regions,  and  philosophically  the  two  Americas, 
which  are  antipodal  to  India.  Also,  the  South  Pole  as  standing  opposite 
to  Meru,  the  North  Pole. 

Pataliputra  (Sk.).  The  ancient  capital  of  IMagadha,  a  kingdom 
of  Kastcrn  India,  now  identified  with  Patna. 

Patanjala  (Sk.).  The  Yoga  plnlosophy ;  one  of  the  six  Darshanas 
or  Scliools  of  India. 


234  THEOSol'llIt  Al. 

Patanjali  iSl:.).  Tlic  toumlcr  of  tin-  Votra  pliilosophv.  Tlir  date 
assigiK'il  to  liiiu  l>.\  the  Orientalists  is  200  B.C.;  and  l)\-  tin-  Occultists 
nearer  to  700  than  (500  ii.  c.  At  any  rate  lu'  was  a  contcniporary  of 
Tanini. 

Pavaka  (Sl,-.).  One  of  the  tlirec  personified  fins  the  eldest  sons 
ot"  .\l)hiinanini  or  Ajjni.  who  had  forty-Hve  sons;  these  with  the  original 
son  of  lirahnia.  their  father  A«;ni,  and  his  three  (leseen<lants.  eon.stitute 
the  inystie  4!)  tii-es.     Pavaka  is  the  electric  tire. 

Pavamana  (Sk.).  Annthif  id'  tiie  tln-ce  lires  ( rith  siiprd)  the  lire 
pi-dducid  h\-  friction. 

Pavana  (Shj.  (Jod  of  the  wind;  the  ;dle«;fd  father  of  the  iiionkcN'- 
jrt)d  llanunian   (See  "Kaiuayana" ). 

Peling  (Tib.}.  The  name  «j:iven  to  all  forei^^iiei's  in  Tiliet.  to 
I'luropeans  especially. 

Pentacle  (llr.).  Any  jreonietrical  fi«nire,  especially  that  known 
as  the  double  equilateral  triangle,  the  six-pointed  star  (like  tlie 
theosophical  peutade)  ;  called  also  Solomon's  .seal,  and  still  earlier  "the 
sign  of  Vishnu'';  used  by  all  the  mystics,  astrologers,  etc. 

Pentagon  (Or.),  from  pente  "five",  and  (jonia  "ajigle'';  in  geometry 
a   plane   figure  with   five  angles. 

Per-M-Rhu  (Ei).).  This  name  is  the  recognized  pronunciation  of 
the  ancient  title  of  the  collection  of  mystical  lectures,  called  in  English 
Th(  Book  of  the  Dead.  Several  almost  complete  i)apyri  have  been  found, 
and  there  are  luimberless  extant  copies  of  portions  of  the  work,  [w.w.w.] 

Personality.  In  Occultism — which  divides  man  into  seven  principles, 
considering  hiiu  under  the  three  aspects  of  the  divine,  the 
thinking  or  the  rational,  and  the  animal  man — the  lower  quaternary  or 
the  ])urely  astrophysical  being;  while  by  Individuality  is  meant  the 
Higher  Triad,  considered  as  a  Unity.  Thus  the  L^rsonality  embraces 
all  the  characteristics  and  memories  of  one  physical  life,  while  the 
Individuality  is  the  imperishable  Ego  M'hich  re-incarnates  and  clothes 
itself  in  one  personality  after  another. 

Pesh-Hun  (THk).  From  the  Sanskrit  pf.^inta  "sjjy"";  an  epithet 
giv.n   to  Xarada.  the  meddlesome  and  troublesome  Kishi. 

Phala  (Sk.i.     J^eti-ibution  ;  the  fi-uit  or  result  of  causes. 

Phalgiina  (Sk.).     A  name  of  Arjuna ;  also  of  a  month. 

Phallic  (dr.).  Anything  belonging  to  sexual  woi-ship ;  or  of  a 
.sexual  character  externally,  such  as  the  Hindu  lingham.  and  yoni — the 
emblems  of  the  male  and  female  generative  power^ — which  have  none  of 
the  unclean  significance  attributed  to  it  by  the  Western  mind. 

Phanes  (Gr.).     One  of  the  Orphic  triad     I'haiKs,  Chaos  and  Chronos. 

It  was  also  the  triinty  of  the  Westei'n  ])eople  in  the  jtre-C'liristian 
period. 


GLOSSARY  235 

Phenomenon  (Or.).  lu  reality  "an  appearance",  something 
previously  unseen,  and  puzzlinj?  when  the  cause  of  it  is  unknown. 
Leaving  aside  various  kinds  of  phenomena,  such  as  cosmic,  eh^etrical, 
chemical,  etc.,  and  lioldin<r  merely  to  the  plienomena  of  spiritism,  let  it 
be  remembered  that  theosopliieally  and  esoterieally  every  "miracle" — 
from  the  biblical  to  the  theumaturgic — is  simply  a  phenomenon,  but  that 
no  piienomenon  is  ever  a  miracle,  i.e.,  something  supernatural  or  outsid.' 
of  the  laws  of  nature,  as  all  such  are  impossibilities  in  nature. 

Philaletheans  (Gr.).  Lit.,  "the  lovers  of  truth";  the  nanu'  is 
given  to  the  Ah-xandi-ian  Neo-Platonists,  also  called  Analogeticists  and 
Theosopliists.  (See  Kc\j  to  Thcosophy,  p.  1,  ct  scq.)  The  school  was 
founded  by  Ammonius  Saecas  early  in  the  third  century,  and  lasted  until 
the  fifth.  The  greatest  philosopliers  and  sages  of  the  day  belonged 
to  it. 

Philalethes,  Euf/otius.  Tlie  liosicrucian  name  assumed  by  one 
Thomas  Vanghan,  a  mediieval  English  Occultist  and  Fire  Philosopher. 
He  was  a  great  Alchemist,     [w.w.w.] 

Philae  (Gr.).  An  island  in  Upper  Egypt  where  a  famous  temple 
of  that  name  was  situated,  the  ruins  of  wliich  may  be  seen  to  this  day 
by  travellers. 

Philo  Judaeus.  A  Ilellenized  Jew  of  Alexandria,  and  a  very 
famous  historian  and  writer ;  born  about  30  B.C.,  died  about  45  a.d.  He 
ougiit  thus  to  have  been  well  acquainted  with  the  greatest  event  of  the 
1st  century  of  our  era,  and  the  facts  about  Jesus,  his  life,  and  the 
drama  of  the  Crucifixion.  And  yet  he  is  absolutely  silent  upon  the 
subject,  both  in  his  careful  enumeration  of  the  then  existing  Sects  and 
Brotherhoods  in  Palestine  ami  in  his  accounts  of  the  Jerusah-m  of  his 
day.  lie  was  a  great  mystic  and  his  works  abound  with  metaphysics 
and  noble  ideas,  while  in  esoteric  knowledge  he  had  no  rival  for  several 
ages  among  the  best  writers.  [See  under  "Philo  Judanis"  in  the 
Glossary  of  the  Key  to  Theosophij.] 

Philosopher's  Stone.  Called  also  the  "Powder  of  Projection". 
It  is  the  M(i(j)nnii  ()pii.<i  of  the  Alchemists,  an  object  to  be  attained 
by  them  at  all  costs,  a  substance  possessing  the  power  of  trans- 
muting the  baser  metals  into  pure  gold.  Mystically,  however,  the  Phil- 
o.sopher's  Stone  symbolises  the  transnuitation  of  the  lower  animal  nature 
of  man  into  the  highest  and  divine. 

Philostratus  (Gr.).  A  biographer  of  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  who 
described  the  life,  travels  and  adventures  of  this  sage  and  philosopher. 

Phla  (Gr.).  A  small  isbmd  in  llie  lake  Tritonia,  in  the  days  of 
Herodotus. 

Phleg^iae  (Gr.).  A  submerged  ancient  isbmd  in  i)rehistoric  days 
and  identified  by  some  writers  with  Atlantis;  also  a  people  in  Thessaly. 

Pho  (Chin.).     The  animal  Soul. 


23(i  TilKOSol'llli  AI. 

Phoebe  lUr.).    A  naiuc  ^jivm  to  Diana,  or  tin-  iiutoii. 

Phcebus-Apollo    (Or.).      ApoUn   as   tin-    Sun.    "thf    li^^lit    uf   liff    ami 

of    tllr    Wdrlli". 

Phoreg  ((Jr.).  Tin*  name  of  tli<'  st-vnitli  Titan  not  nicntioiuMl  in 
till-  c-osino-^'ony  of  Hesiod.     The  "mystery"  Titau. 

Phorminx   (dr.).     Tlie  sivcn-strinfjed  lyn-  of  Orphiws. 

Phoronede  (dr.).  A  poem  of  wliidi  Pln)roneus  is  tlif  hero:  this 
wm-k  is  no  h)n«?t'r  extant. 

Phoroneus  (dr.).  A  Tilan;  an  anc-cstor  and  ^mirator  of  man- 
kind. According  to  a  legend  of  Argolis,  like  Prometheus  he  was 
credited  with  bringing  fire  to  this  earth  (PausaniasV  The  god  of  a  river 
in  Peloponnesus. 

Phren  (Gr.).  A  Pythagoi-can  t«'rm  diiioting  what  wf  call  tln' 
Kama-Manas  still  overshadowed  by  the  Buddhi-^Iaiuis. 

Phtah  (Eg.).  The  God  of  death;  similar  to  Siva,  tiif  destroyer, 
in  later  Egyptian  mythology  a  sun-god.  It  is  the  seat  or  locality  of 
the  Sun  and  its  occult  Genius  or  Regent  in  esoteric  philo.sophy. 

Phta-Ra  (Eg.).    One  of  the  49  mystic  (occult)  Fires. 

Picus,  JoJni,  Count  of  Mirandola.  A  celebrated  Kabbalist  and 
Alchemist,  author  of  a  treatise  "on  gold"  and  other  Kabbalistic  works. 
He  defied  Rome  and  Euroi)e  in  his  attempt  to  prove  divine  Christian 
tTMith  in  the  Zuluir.     Born  in  1463,  died  1494. 

Pillaloo  Codi  (Tamil.).  A  nickname  in  popular  astronomy 
given  to  the  Pleiades,  meaning  "hen  and  chickens".  The  French  also, 
curiously  enough  call  this  constellation,  "Poussiniere". 

Pillars,  The  Tivo.  Jaehin  and  Boaz  were  placed  at  the  entrance 
to  the  Temple  of  Solomon,  the  first  on  the  right,  the  second  on  the  left. 
Their  .symbolism  is  developed  in  the  rituals  of  the  Freemasons. 

Pillars,  Th(  Three.  When  the  ten  Sephiroth  are  arranged  in  the 
Tree  of  Life,  two  vertical  lines  separate  them  into  3  Pillars,  namely 
the  Pillar  of  Severity,  the  Pillar  of  Mercy,  and  the  central  Pillar  of 
^lildness.  Binah,  Geburah,  and  Hod  form  the  first,  that  of  Severity ; 
Kether.  Tiphcreth,  Jesod  and  Malkuth  the  central  pillar;  Chokmah. 
Chesed  and  Netzach  the  Pillar  of  j\Iercy.     [w.w.w.] 

Pillars  of  Hermes.  Like  the  "pillars  of  Seth"  (with  which 
tiiey  are  identified)  they  served  for  commemorating  occult  events,  and 
various  esoteric  .secrets  symbol  icall}'  engraved  on  them.  It  was  a  uni- 
versal practice.     Enoch  is  also  said  to  have  constructed  pillars. 

Pingala  (Sk.).  The  great  Vedic  authority  on  the  Prosody  and 
chJidudiis  of  the  Vedas.    Lived  .several  centuries  B.C. 

Pippala  (SJx.).  The  tree  of  knowledge:  the  mystic  fruit  of  that 
tree  "upon  which  came  Spirits  who  love  Science".  Tliis  is  allegorical 
and  occult. 


GLOSSARY  237 

Pippalada  (:Sk.J.  A  magic  school  wlifn-iii  Atharra  Vtdd  is  explained 
founded  by  an  Adept  of  that  name. 

Pisachas  (Sk.).  In  the  Purihtas,  goblins  or  demons  created  by 
BralimA.  In  the  southern  Indian  folk-lort',  ghosts  demons,  larvae,  and 
vampires — generally  female — who  haunt  men.  Fading  remnants  of 
human  beings  in  Kdmaloka,  as  shells  and  Elementaries. 

Pistis  Sophia  (Sk.).  "Knowledge-Wisdom."  A  sacred  book  of 
the  early  Gnostics  or  the  primitive  Christians. 

Pitar  Devata  (Sk.).  The  "Father-Gods'*,  the  lunar  ancestors  of 
mankind. 

Pitaras  (Sk.).     Fathers,  Ancestors.     The  fathers  of  tlu;  human  races. 

Pitris  (Sk.).  The  ancestors,  or  creators  of  mankind.  They  are  of 
seven  classes,  three  of  which  are  incorporeal,  arupa,  and  four  corporeal. 
In  popular  theology  they  are  said  to  be  created  from  Brahma's  side. 
They  are  variously  genealogized,  but  in  esoteric  philosophy  they  are 
as  given  in  the  Secret  Doctrine.  In  Isis  Unveiled  it  is  said  of  them:  "It 
is  generally  believed  that  the  Hindu  term  means  the  spirits  of  our 
ancestors,  of  disembodied  people,  hence  the  argument  of  some  Spiritual- 
ists that  fakirs  (and  yogis)  and  other  Eastern  wonder-workers,  are 
mediums.  This  is  in  more  than  one  sense  erroneous.  The  Pitris  are 
not  the  ancestors  of  the  present  living  men,  but  those  of  the  human 
kind,  or  Adamic  races;  the  spirits  of  human  races,  which  on  the  great 
scale  of  descending  evolution  preceded  our  races  of  men,  and  they  were 
physicedly,  eis  well  as  spiritually,  far  superior  to  our  modern  pigmies. 
In  Mdnava  Dharma  Shdstra  thej'  are  called  the  Lunar  Ancestors."  The 
Secret  Doctrine  has  now  explained  that  which  was  cautiously  put  for- 
ward in  the  earlier  Theosophical  volumes. 

Piyadasi  (Pali.).  "The  beautiful",  a  title  of  King  Chandragupta 
(the  "Sandracottus"  of  the  Greeks)  and  of  Asoka  the  Buddhist  king, 
his  grandson.  They  both  reigned  in  Central  India  between  the  fourth 
and  third  centuries  B.C.,  called  also  Devanampiya,  "the  beloved  of  the 
gods".  } 

Plaksha  (Sk.).  One  of  the  seven  Dwipas  (continents  or  islands) 
in  the  Indian  Pantheon  and  the  Purdnas. 

Plane.  From  the  Latin  planus  (level  Hat)  an  extension  of  space 
or  of  something  in  it,  whether  physical  or  metaphysical,  e.g.,  a  "plane 
of  consciousness".  As  used  in  Occultism,  the  term  denotes  the  range  or 
extent  of  .some  state  of  consciousness,  or  of  the  perceptive  power  of  a 
particular  set  of  sen.ses,  or  the  action  of  a  particular  force,  or  the  state 
of  matter  corresponding  to  any  of  the  above. 

Planetary  Spirits.  Primarily  the  rulers  or  governors  of  the 
planets.  As  uur  earth  has  its  hierarchy  of  terrestrial  planetary  spirits, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  plane,  so  has  every  other  heavenly  body. 
In  Occultism,  however,  the  term  "Planetary  Spirit"  is  generally  applied 


238  THEOSOPIIICAL 

only  to  the  seven  lii{]:hest  hierareliics  eorrcsjiondinjr  to  the  Cliristiaii 
archanfrels.  These  have  all  jtassed  thr(m<;h  a  stapn*  of  evolution  eorre- 
spondinjr  to  the  humanity  of  earth  on  other  worlds,  in  long  past  eyeles. 
Our  earth,  lu'inj;  as  yet  only  in  its  fourth  round,  is  far  too  younj?  to 
have  produeed  hijrh  planetary  si)irits.  The  hifjhest  planetary  spirit 
ruling  over  any  glohi-  is  in  reality  the  ''Personal  God"  of  that  planet 
and  far  more  truly  its  "over-ruling  providence"  tlian  the  sdf-eontra- 
diet()r\    hiliiiitc  Personal  Deity  of  modern  Churehianity. 

Plastic  Soul,  l^sed  in  Oeeultism  in  reference  to  the  liixja  sharira 
or  the  astral  body  of  the  lower  Quaternary.  It  is  called  "plastic"  and 
also  "Protean"  Soul  from  its  power  of  assuming  any  shape  or  form  and 
moulding  or  modelling  itself  into  or  upon  any  image  impressed  in  the 
astral  light  around  it,  or  in  the  minds  of  tlie  medium  or  of  those  present 
at  seances  for  nuiteriali/.ation.  The  linga  sharira  must  not  be  confused 
with  the  maifavi  rupa  or  "thought  body" — the  image  created  by  the 
thought  and  will  of  an  adept  or  sorcerer;  for  while  the  "astral  form" 
or  linga  sharira  is  a  real  entity,  the  "thought  body"  is  a  temporary 
illusion  created  by  the  mind. 

Plato.  An  Initiate  into  tlie  Mysteries  and  the  -reatest  Greek 
philosopher,  whose  writings  are  known  the  world  over.  lie  was  the 
pupil  of  Socrates  and  the  teacher  of  Aristotle.  He  flourished  over  400 
years  before  our  era. 

Platonic  School,  or  the  "Old  Akademe",  in  contrast  with  the 
later  (u-  X>  (i-I'ldtonic  School  of  Alexandria   (See  "Philalethean"). 

Pleroma  (Gr.).  "Fulness",  a  Gnostic  term  adopted  to  signify 
tlie  divine  world  or  Universal  Soul.  Space,  developed  and  divided  into 
a  series  of  jeons.     The  abode  of  the  invisible  gods.     It  has  three  degrees. 

Plotinus.  The  noblest  highest  and  grandest  of  all  the  Neo- 
Platonists  after  the  founder  of  the  school,  Ammonius  Saccas.  He  was 
the  most  enthu.siastic  of  the  Philalethcans  or  "lovers  of  truth",  whose 
aim  was  to  found  a  religion  on  a  system  of  intellectual  abstraction, 
which  is  true  Theosophy,  or  the  whole  substance  of  Neo-Platonism.  If 
we  are  to  believe  Porphyry,  Plotinus  has  never  disclosed  either  his  birth- 
place or  connexions,  his  native  land  or  his  race.  Till  the  age  of  twenty- 
eight  he  had  never  found  teacher  or  teaching  which  would  suit  him  or 
answer  his  aspirations.  Then  he  happened  to  hear  Ammonius  Saccas, 
from  which  day  he  continued  to  attend  his  school.  At  thirty-nine  he 
accompanied  the  Emperor  Gordian  to  Persia  and  India  with  the  object 
of  learning  their  philosophy.  He  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  after 
writing  fifty-four  books  on  philosophy.  So  modest  was  he  that  it  is  said 
he  "blushed  to  think  he  had  a  body".  He  reached  Samddhi  (highest 
ecstasy  or  "re-union  with  God"  the  divine  Ego)  several  times  during 
his  life.  As  said  by  a  biographer,  "so  far  did  his  contempt  for  his 
bodily  organs  go,  that  he  refused  to  use  a  remedy,  regarding  it  as 
unworthy  of  a  man  to  use  means  of  this  kind".    Again  we  read,  "as  he 


GLOSSARY  239 

(lied,  a  drajron  (or  .SL'ri)i.*iit)  that  liad  beeu  uikUt  liis  bed,  glided  through 
a  hole  in  the  wall  and  disappeared" — a  fact  suggestive  for  the  student 
of  symbolism.  He  taught  a  doctrine  identical  with  that  of  the  Vedantins, 
namely,  that  the  8pirit-Soul  emanating  from  the  One  deific  jirinciplr 
was,  aft.'r  its  pil^Tiinagc.  re-united  to  It. 

Point  within  a  Circle,  in  its  esoteric  meaning  tlie  first  unmani- 
fested  locjos  appearing  on  tlie  infinite  and  shoreless  expan.se  of 
Space,  represented  by  the  Circle.  It  is  the  plane  of  Infinity  and  Abso- 
luteness. This  is  only  one  of  tlie  numberless  and  hidden  meanings  of 
this  symbol,  which  is  the  most  im])ortant  of  all  the  geometrical  figures 
used  in  metapliysical  emblematology.  As  to  tht-  ^Masons,  they  have  made 
of  the  point  "an  individual  brother"  who.se  duty  to  -Cxod  and  man  is 
bounded  by  the  circle,  and  have  added  John  the  Baptist  and  John  the 
Evangelist  to  keep  company  with  the  "brother",  representing  them 
under  two  ixTixMidicular  parallel  lines. 

Popes-Magicians.  There  arc  several  sueli  in  history;  i  .g..  Pope 
SylvesteT  II.,  the  artist  who  made  an  "oracular  head",  like  the  one 
fabricated  by  Albertus  ]\Iagnus,  tlie  learned  Bishop  of  Ratisbon.  Pope 
Sylvester  was  considered  a  great  "enchanter  and  sorcerer"  by  Cardinal 
Benno,  and  the  "head"  was  smashed  to  pieces  by  Thomas  Aquinas, 
because  it  talked  too  much.  Then  there  were  Popes  Benedict  IX.,  John 
XX.,  and  the  Vlth  and  Vllth  Gregory,  all  regarded  by  their  contempo- 
raries as  magicians.  The  latter  Gregory  was  the  famous  Hildebrand. 
As  to  Bishops  and  lesser  Priests  who  studied  Occultism  and  became 
expert  in  magic  arts,  they  are  numberless. 

Popol  Vuh.  The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Guatemalians.  Quiche  MSS., 
<liscovered  b\'  Brasseur  de  Bourbourg. 

Porphyry,  (ir  rrophijrius.  A  Xeo-Platonist  and  a  most  dis- 
tinguished writer,  only  second  to  Plotinus  as  a  teaclier  and  philosopher. 
He  was  born  before  the  middle  of  the  third  century  a.d.,  at  Tyre,  since 
he  called  himself  a  Tyrian  and  is  supposed  to  have  belonged  to  a  Jewish 
family.  Though  himself  thoroughly  Ilellenized  and  a  Pagan,  his  name 
Melrk  (a  king)  does  seem  to  indicate  tliat  lie  had  Semitic  blood  in 
his  veins.  ^lodern  critics  very  justly  consider  him  the  most  practically 
philosophical,  and  the  soberest,  of  all  the  Neo-Platonists.  A  distinguished 
writer,  he  was  specially  famoiis  for  his  controver.sy  with  lamblichus 
regarding  the  evils  attendant  upon  the  practice  of  Tiieurgy.  He  was, 
however,  finally  converted  to  tlie  views  of  his  opponent.  A  natural-born 
mystic,  he  followed,  as  did  his  master  Plotinus,  the  pure  Indian  Kaj- 
Yoga  training,  which  leads  to  the  union  of  the  Soul  with  the  Over-Soul 
or  Higher  Self  (Buddhi-Manas).  He  complains,  however,  that,  all  his 
efforts  notwithstanding,  he  did  not  reach  this  state  of  ecstacy  before  he 
was  sixty,  while  Plotinus  was  proficient  in  it.  This  was  so,  probably 
because  wiiile  his  teacher  held  piiysical  life  and  body  in  the  greatest 
contempt,  limiting  philosophical  research  to  those  regions  where  life  and 


240  TiIi:OSUl'lilL'AL 

tli()Ufi:ht  bt'foiiu'  ctiTiial  and  tliviiic,  Porpliyry  devoted  his  wliolc  time  to 
considerations  of  the  bearing!:  of  phihisopliy  on  i)raetieal  life.  "The  end 
of  philosophy  is  with  him  morality",  says  a  biop:rapher,  "we  might 
almost  say,  holiness — the  healing  of  man's  infirmities,  the  imparting  to 
him  a  purer  and  more  vigorous  life.  Mere  knowledge,  however  true,  is 
not  of  itself  sufficient ;  knowledge  has  for  its  object  life  in  accordance 
with  Nous" — "reason",  translates  the  biographer.  As  we  inter])ret 
Nous,  iiowever,  not  as  reason,  but  mind  (JManas)  or  the  divine  eternal 
Ego  in  man,  we  would  translate  the  idea  esoterically,  and  make  it  read 
"the  occult  or  secret  knowledge  has  for  its  object  terrestrial  life  in 
accordance  with  Nous,  or  our  everlasting  reincarnating  Ego",  which 
would  be  more  consonant  with  Porphyry's  idea,  as  it  is  with  esoteric 
philosophy.  {See  Porphyry's  Dc  Abstinentia  i.,  29.)  Of  all  the  Neo- 
Platonists,  Porphyry  approached  the  nearest  to  real  Theosophy  as  now 
taught  by  the  Eastern  secret  school.  This  is  shown  by  all  our  modern 
critics  and  writers  on  the  Alexandrian  school,  for  "he  held  that  the  Soul 
should  be  as  far  as  possible  freed  from  the  bonds  of  matter,  ...  be 
ready  ...  to  cut  off  the  whole  body".  (Ad  Marcellam,  34.)  He 
recommends  the  practice  of  abstinence,  saying  that  "we  should  be  like 
tlie  gods  if  we  could  abstain  from  vegetable  as  well  as  animal  food". 
He  accepts  with  reluctance  theurgy  and  mystic  incantation  as  those  are 
"powerless  to  purify  noetic  (manasic)  principle  of  the  soul":  theurgy 
can  "but  cleanse  the  lower  or  psychic  portion,  and  make  it  capable  of 
perceiving  lower  beings,  such  as  spirits,  angels  and  gods"  (Aug.  D( 
Civ.  Dei.  X.,  9),  just  as  Theosophy  teaches.  "Do  not  defile  the  divinity", 
he  adds,  "with  the  vain  imaginings  of  men;  you  will  not  injure  that 
which  is  for  ever  blessed  (Buddhi-Manas)  but  you  will  blind  yourself 
to  the  perception  of  the  greatest  and  most  vital  truths".  {Ad  Marcellam, 
18.)  "If  we  would  be  free  from  the  assaults  of  evil  spirits,  we  must 
keep  ourselves  clear  of  those  things  over  which  evil  spirits  have  power, 
for  they  attack  not  the  pure  soul  whicli  has  no  af^nity  with  them".  {Dc 
Ahstin.  ii.,  43.)  This  is  again  our  teaching.  The  Church  Fathers  held 
Porphyry  as  the  bitterest  enemy,  the  most  irreconcilable  to  Christianity. 
Finally,  and  once  more  as  in  modern  Theosophy,  Porphyrj^ — as  all  the 
Neo-Platonists,  according  to  St.  Augustine — "praised  Christ  while  they 
disparaged  Christianity";  Jesus,  they  contended,  as  we  contend,  "said 
nothing  himself  against  the  pagan  deities,  but  wrought  wonders  by 
their  help".  "Thej^  could  not  call  him  as  his  disciples  did,  God,  but 
they  honoured  him  as  one  of  the  best  and  wisest  of  men".  (De  Civ.  Dei., 
xix.,  23.)  Yet,  "even  in  the  storm  of  controversy,  scarcely  a  word 
seems  to  have  been  uttered  against  the  private  life  of  Porphyry.  His 
system  prescribed  purity  and  ...  he  practised  it".  (See  A  Diet, 
of  Christian  Biography,  Vol.  IV.,  "Porphyry".) 

Poseidonis  (Gr.).  The  last  remnant  of  the  great  Atlantean 
Continent.  Plato's  island  Atlantis  is  referred  to  as  an  equivalent  term 
in  Esoteric  Philosophy. 


-     GLOSSARY  241 

Postel,  GuillautiK.  A  French  adept,  born  in  Normandy  in  1.')10. 
His  learning  brought  him  to  the  notice  of  Francis  I.,  who  sent  him 
to  the  Levant  in  search  of  occult  MSS.,  where  he  was  received  into  and 
initiated  by  an  Eastern  Fraternity.  On  his  return  to  France  he  became 
famous.  He  was  persecuted  by  the  clergy  and  finally  imprisoned  by  the 
Inquisition,  but  was  released  by  his  Eastern  brothers  from  his  dungeon. 
His  Clavis  Ahsconditorum,  a  key  to  things  hidden  and  forgotten,  is  very 
celebrated. 

Pot-Amun.  Said  to  be  a  Coptic  term.  The  name  of  an  Egyptian 
priest  and  hieropliant  who  lived  under  the  earlier  Ptolemies.  Diogenes 
Laertius  tells  us  that  it  signifies  one  consecrated  to  the  "Amun",  the 
god  of  wisdom  and  secret  learning,  such  as  were  Hermes,  Thoth,  and 
Nebo  of  the  Chaldees.  This  must  be  so,  since  in  Chaldea  the  priests 
consecrated  to  Nebo  also  bore  his  name,  being  called  the  Nebo'im,  or  in 
some  old  Hebrew  Kabbalistic  works,  "Abba  Nebu".  The  priests  gen- 
erally^ took  the  names  of  their  gods.  Pot-Amun  is  credited  with  having 
been  the  first  to  teach  Theosophy,  or  the  outlines  of  the  Secret  Wisdom- 
Religion,  to  the  uninitiated. 

Prabhavapyaya  (Sk.).  That  whence  all  originates  and  into 
which  all  things  resolve  at  the  end  of  the  life-cycle. 

Prachetas  (Sk.).  A  name  of  Varuna,  the  god  ot  water,  or 
esoterically — its  principle. 

Prachetasas  (S-k.).  See  Secret  Doctrine,  II.,  176  et  seq.  Daksha 
is  the  son  of  the  Prachetasas,  the  ten  sons  of  Praehinavahis.  Men 
endowed  with  magic  powers  in  the  Purdnas,  who,  while  practising  re- 
ligious austerities,  remained  immersed  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  for 
10,000  years.    The  name  also  of  Daksha,  called  Prdchetasa. 

Pradhana  (Sk.).  Undifferentiated  substance,  called  elsewhere 
and  in  other  schools — Akasa ;  and  Mulapraki'iti  or  Root  of  Matter  by  the 
Vedantins.     In  short.  Primeval  Matter. 

Pragna  (Sk.)  or  Prajna.  A  synonym  of  Mahat,  the  Universal 
Mind.     The  capacity  for  perception.     (S.  D.,  I.  139)   Consciousness. 

Prahlada  (Sk.).  The  son  of  Tiranyakashipu,  the  King  of  the 
Asuras.  As  Prahlada  was  devoted  to  Vishnu,  of  whom  his  father  was 
the  greatest  enemy,  he  became  subjected  in  consequence  to  a  variety  of 
tortures  and  punishments.  In  order  to  save  his  devotee  from  these, 
Vishnu  assumed  the  form  of  Nri-Sinha  (man-lion,  his  fourth  avatar) 
and  killed  the  father. 

Prajapatis  (Sk.).  Progenitors;  the  givers  of  life  to  all  on  this 
Earth.  Tliey  are  seven  and  then  ten — corresponding  to  the  seven  and 
ten  Kabbalistic  Sephiroth ;  to  the  Mazdean  Amesha-Spentas,  &c. 
Brahma,  the  creator,  is  called  Prajapati  as  tlie  synthesis  of  the  Lords  of 
Being. 


242  riiK«>si»i'iiu  Ai. 

Prakrita  (Sk.).  Om-  of  llif  provincial  dialci-ts  of  Sanskrit --"tht* 
l;in^'-ua^r<    <»t"  the  {rods'",  anil  thcrcfort',  its  materialization. 

Prakritika  Pralaya  (Sk.).  'Vlw  Pralaya  succeedinj;  to  the 
A{,'f  of  iiralinia.  wliiii  I'Vi'rytliinji-  tliat  i-xists  is  rt'solvt-d  into  its 
priinortlial  cs-scncc   (or  I'rakriti). 

Prakriti    (Sk.i.     Xatnrf    in   jrent-i-al.    nature   as  opposed    to   Purusha 

^|li^itnal  nature  and  Spirit,  which  together  are  the  "two  primeval 
aspects  of  the  One  ("iiknown   Deity".     {iSccrt  I  Docfrim.  I.  f)!.) 

Pralaya  (Sk.).  A  period  of  obscuration  or  repose — planetary, 
cosmic  or  universal — the  opposite  of  Manvantara  (.S.  D.,  I.  370.). 

Pramantha  (Sk.).  An  accessor\  to  producing;  the  sacred  fire  by 
fii'-tion.     The  sticks  used  by  Brahmins  to  kindle  fire  by  friction. 

Prameyas    (Sk.).      Thin«rs    to    be    pi-oved ;    objects    of  Pramann  or 

pl'Dof. 

Pram-Gimas  ( Lith nankin ).     Lit.,  "Master  of  all",  a  deity-title. 

Pramlocha  (Sk.).  A  female  Aspams — a  water-nymph  who  beguiled 
Kautlu.     (See  "Kandu".) 

Prana  (Sk.).     Life-Principle;  the  l)reatli  of  Life. 

Pranamaya  Kosha  (Sk.).  The  vehicle  of  Vrnna,  life  or  the  Linga 
Siirira  :  ;i    X'edantic  terra. 

Pranatman  (Sk.).  The  same  as  Sutratnia,  the  eternal  germ-thi-rad 
on  which   are  strung,   like  beads,  the  personal  lives  of  the  Ego. 

Pranava  fSk.).     A  sacred  word,  equivalent  to  Aum. 

Pranayama  (Sk.).  The  suppression  and  regulation  of  the  breath 
in  Yoga  practice. 

Pranidhana  (Sk.).  The  fifth  observance  of  the  Yogis;  ceaseless 
devoTJon.     '  See  Yoga  Shastras,  ii.  32.) 

Prapti  ^s'A-.;.  Prom  Prdp,  to  reach.  One  of  the  eight  Sid-dhif 
i  powers)  of  Raj-Yoga.  The  power  of  transporting  oneself  from  one 
place  to  another,  instantaneously,  by  the  mere  force  of  will ;  the  faculty 
of  divination,  of  healing  and  of  prophesying,  also  a  Yoga  power. 

Prasanga  Madhyamika  (Sk.).  A  Buddhist  school  of  philosophy 
in  Tibet.  It  follows,  like  the  Yogacharya  system,  the  Mahdydua 
or  "Great  Vehicle"'  of  precepts;  but,  having  been  founded  far  later 
than  the  Yogacharya,  it  is  not  half  so  rigid  and  severe.  It  is  a  semi- 
exoteric  and  very  popular  system  among  the  literati  and  laymen. 

Prashraya,  or  Vinaija  (Sk.).  "The  progenetrix  of  affection.""  A 
title  bestowed  ui)on  the  Vedic  Aditi.  the  "Mother  of  the  Gods". 

Pratibhasika  (Sk.).    The  apparent  or  illusory  life. 

Pratisamvid  (Sk.).  The  four  "unlimited  forms  of  wisdom"  at- 
tained by  an  Arhat ;  the  last  of  which  is  the  ahsolutr  knowledge  of  and 
power  over  the  twelve  Nidanas.     (See  "Nidana".) 


GLOSSARY  243 

Pratyabhava  (Skj.  Tlic  state  of  the  E^o  under  the  necessity  of  n-- 
|)eate(l   l)ii'ths. 

Pratyagatma  (Sk.).  The  samt'  as  .Jivatma.  or  the  out-  liviii'r  rnivci-- 
sal  Soul — Alaya. 

Pratyahara  (Sk.).     Tlie  same  as  "Mahapralaya". 

Pratyaharana  (Sk.).  Tlie  i)relirainary  training-  in  practical  Raj- 
Vofra. 

Pratyaksha   (Sk.).     Spiritual  perception  by  means  of  senses. 

Pratyasarga  (Sk.).  In  Sankhya  philosophy  the  "intellectual  evolu- 
tion of  the  Universe";  in  tlie  Furfnia.'i  tlie  8th  creation. 

Pratyeka  Buddha  (Sk.).  The  same  as  "Po^t-Buddha".  The 
Pratyeka  Buddlia  is  a  degree  which  belongs  exclusively  to  the  Yoga- 
charya  school,  yet  it  is  only  one  of  high  intellectual  development  with  no 
true  spirituality.  It  is  the  dcad-h  ttcr  of  the  Yoga  laws,  in  which 
intellect  and  comprehension  play  the  greatest  part,  added  to  the  strict 
carrying  out  of  the  rules  of  the  inner  development.  It  is  one  of  the  three 
paths  to  Nirvana,  and  the  lowest,  in  which  a  Yogi — "without  teaeiier 
and  without  saving  others" — by  the  mere  force  of  will  and  technical 
ob.servances,  attains  to  a  kind  of  nominal  Buddhashij)  individually : 
doing  no  good  to  anyone,  but  working  selfishly  for  his  own  salvation  and 
himself  alone.  The  Pratyekas  are  respected  outwardly  but  are  despi.sed 
inwardly  by  those  of  keen  or  spiritual  appreciation.  A  Pratyeka  is 
generally  compared  to  a  "Khadga"  or  solitary  rhinoceros  and  called 
Ekashringa  Rishi,  a  selfish  solitary  Rishi  (or  saint).  "As  crossing 
Sansara  ('the  ocean  of  birth  and  death'  or  the  series  of  incarnations), 
.suppressing  errors,  and  yet*  not  attaining  to  absolute  perfection,  the 
Pratyeka  Buddha  is  compared  with  a  horse  which  crosses  a  river  swim- 
ming, without  touching  the  ground."  {San.<ikrit-Chinese  Diet.)  He  is 
far  below  a  true  "Buddha  of  Compassion".  He  strives  only  for  the 
reaching  of  Nirvana. 

Pre-existence.  The  term  use<l  to  denote  that  we  have  lived 
before.  The  same  as  reincarnation  in  the  past.  The  idea  is  derided  by 
.some,  rejected  by  others,  called  ab.surd  and  inconsistent  by  the  third : 
yet  it  is  the  oldest  and  the  most  universally  accepted  belief  from  an 
immemorial  antiquity.  And  if  this  belief  was  universally  accepted  by 
the  most  subtle  philosophical  minds  of  the  pre-Christian  world,  surely 
it  is  not  amiss  that  some  of  our  modern  intellectual  men  should  also 
believe  in  it,  or  at  least  give  the  doctrine  the  benefit  of  the  doubt.  Even 
the  Bible  hints  at  it  more  than  once,  St.  John  the  Baptist  being  regarded 
as  the  reincarnation  of  Elijah,  and  the  Disciples  asking  whether  the 
blind  man  ivas  horn  blind  bccau.'ic  of  his  sin.<i,  which  is  equal  to  saying 
that  he  had  lived  and  sinned  before  being  born  blind.  As  ]\Ir.  Bonwiek 
well  says:  it  was  "the  work  of  spiritual  progression  and  soul  discipline. 
The  pampered  sensualist  returned  a  beggar ;  the  proud  oppressor,  a 
slave ;  the  selfish  woman  of  fashion,  a  seamstress.     A  turn  of  the  wheel 


244  TIIKOSOI'HICAL 

fjavc  a  chaiu'c  for  tlu'  di'Vi'lopiiu'iit  of  lu-ji^lci'tt'd  or  abused  intelligeiiCL' 
and  foeliiij?,  heiieo  the  popularity  of  reincarnation  in  all  climes  and 
times,  .  .  .  thus  the  expurgation  of  evil  was  .  .  ^.  gradually 
but  certainly  accomplished."  Verily  "an  evil  act  follows  a  man,  pass- 
ing through  one  hundred  thousand  ti-ansinigrations"  (Panchatantra). 
"All  souls  have  a  subtle  vehicle,  image  of  the  body,  which  carries  the 
passive  soul  from  one  material  dwelling  to  another"  says  Kapila ;  while 
liasnage  explains  of  the  Jews:  "By  this  second  death  is. not  considend 
hell,  but  that  which  hai)pens  when  a  soul  has  a  second  time  animated  a 
body".  Herodotus  tells  his  readers,  that  tiie  Egyptians  "are  the  earliest 
who  have  spoken  of  this  doctrine,  according  to  which  the  soul  of  man 
is  immortal,  and  after  the  destruction  of  the  body,  enters  into  a  newh/ 
born  hdng.  When,  say  tliey,  it  has  j>assed  through  all  the  animals  of 
the  earth  and  .sea,  and  all  the  birds,  it  will  re-enter  the  body  of  a  new 
born  man."  This  is  Pre -existence.  Deveria  showed  that  the  funeral 
books  of  the  Egyptians  say  plainly  "that  resurrection  was,  in  reality, 
but  a  renovation,  leading  to  a  new  infancy,  and  a  new  youth".  (See 
"Kcincarnation".) 

Pretas  (Sk.).  "lliingr\'  demons"  in  popular  folk-lore.  "Shells", 
of  the  avaricious  and  selfish  man  after  death;  "Elementaries"  reborn  as 
Pi-et;is.  in  Kama-loka,  according  to  the  esoteric  teachings. 

Priestesses.  Every  ancient  religion  had  its  priestesses  in  the  tem- 
ples. Tn  Egypt  they  were  called  the  Sd  and  served  the  altar  of  Tsis  and 
in  the  terajiles  of  other  goddesses.  Canephorrr  was  the  name  given  by 
the  Greeks  to  tho.se  consecrated  priestesses  who  bore  the  baskets  of  the 
gods  during  the  public  festivals  of  the  ^pieusinian  ]\Iysteries.  There 
were  female  in'ojdiets  in  Israel  as  in  P]gypt.  diviners  of  dreams  and 
oracles :  and  Herodotus  mentions  the  Hierodulrs,  the  virgins  or  nuns 
dedicated  to  tiie  Theban  Jove,  who  were  generally  the  Pharaoh's 
daughters  and  other  Princesses  of  the  Royal  House.  Orientalists  speak 
of  the  wife  of  Cephrenes,  the  Imilder  of  the  so-called  second  Pyramid, 
wjio  was  a  priestess  of  Thoth.  (See  "Nuns".) 

Primordial  Light.  In  Occultism,  the  light  which  is  born  in,  and 
througli  the  preternatui-al  darkness  of  chaos,  which  contains  "the  all  in 
all",  the  .seven  rays  that  become  later  the  seven  Principles  in  Nature. 

Principles.  The  Elements  or  original  essences,  the  basic  diflfertnitia- 
tions  upon  and  of  which  all  things  are  built  up.  We  use  the  term  to 
denote  the  seven  individual  and  fundamental  aspects  of  the  One  Uni- 
versal Reality  in  Kosmos  and  in  man.  Plence  also  the  seven  aspects  in 
their  manifestation  in  the  human  being — divine,  spiritual,  psychic,  as- 
ti-al.  jtliysiological  and  simply  physical. 

Priyavrata  (Sh\).  The  name  of  the  son  of  Swayambhuva  .Maim  in 
exoteric  Hinduism.  Th(>  occult  designation  of  one  of  the  primeval  races 
in    Occultism. 

Proclus  (Or.).     A  Greek  writer  and  mystic  pliilcsoplier.  known  as  a 


GLOSSARY  245 

Comimntatoi-  of  IMato,  jiiid  siiniaint'd  tlic  Diadocluis.  llr  lived  in  tlie 
fifth  century,  and  died,  ag:ed  75,  at  Athens  a.d.  485.  His  last  ardent 
disciple  and  follower  and  the  translator  of  his  works  was  Thomas  Taylor 
of  Norwich,  who,  says  Brother  Kenneth  Mackenzie,  "was  a  modern 
mystic  who  adopted  the  i)afran  faith  as  beinp:  the  only  veritable  faith, 
and  aetiiall\'  sacrificed  doves  to  Venus,  a  jroat  to  Bacchus  and  .... 
desifrned  to  iiniiiolate  a  bull  to  Jupiter"  but  was  jirevented  by  his 
landlady. 

Prometheus  (Gr.).  The  Greek  logos;  In-,  who  by  bringing  on  earth 
divine  fire  (intellifrcnce  and  consciousness)  endowed  men  with  reason 
and  mind.  Prometheus  is  the  Hellenic  ty]^e  of  our  Kumtiras  or  Egos, 
those  who,  by  incarimtin<r  in  men,  made  of  them  latent  gods  instead  of 
animals.  The  gods  (or  Elohim)  were  aver.se  to  men  becoming  "as  one 
of  us"  (Genesis  iii.,  22), and  knowing  "good  and  evil".  Hence  we  see 
these  gods  in  every  religious  legend  punishing  man  for  his  desire  to 
know.  As  the  Greek  myth  has  it,  for  stealing  the  tire  he  brought  to  men 
from  Heaven,  Prometheus  was  chained  by  the  order  of  Zeus  to  a  <-i-ag 
of  the  Caucasian  ^Mountains. 

Propator  (Gr.).  A  Gnostic  term.  The  "Depth"  of  Bythos.  or  En- 
Aior,  the  unfathomable  light.  The  latter  is  alone  the  Self-Existent  and 
the  Eternal — Propator  is  only  periodical. 

Protogonos  (Gr.).  The  "first-born":  used  of  all  the  manifested  gods 
and  of  tile  Sun  in  our  system. 

Proto-ilos  (Gr.).     The  first  primordial  matter. 

Protologoi  (Gr.).  The  primordial  seven  creative  Forces  when  anthro- 
poiiior])lii/.ed  into  Archangels  or  Logoi. 

Protyle  (Gr.).  A  newly-coined  word  in  chemisti-y  to  desigjiate  the 
lii'st    homogeneous,    primordial   substance. 

Pschent  (Eg.).  A  symbol  in  the  form  of  a  double  crown,  meaning 
the  presence  of  Deity  in  death  as  in  life,  on  earth  as  in  lieaviMi.  This 
Pschent  is  only  worn  by  certain  gods. 

Psyche  (Gr.).    The  animal,  terrestrial  Soul;  the  lower  Manas. 

Psychism,  from  the  Greek  psyche.  A  term  now  used  to  denote  very 
loosely  every  kind  of  mental  phenomena,  e.g.,  mediumship.  and  the 
higher  .sensitiveness,  hypnotic  receptivity,  and  inspired  prophecy,  simple 
clairvoyance  in  the  astral  light,  and  real  divine  seership ;  in  short,  the 
word  covers  every  phase  and  manifestation  of  the  powers  and  iiotencies 
of  the  hionan  and  the  divine  Souls. 

Psychography.  A  word  first  used  by  theosophists;  it  means  writing 
under  tile  dictation  or  the  influence  of  one's  "soul-power",  though 
Spiritualists  have  now  adopted  the  term  to  denote  writing  produced  by 
their  mediums  under  the  guidance  of  returning  "Spirits". 

Psychology.  The  Science  of  Soul  in  days  of  old :  a  Science  whicii 
served  as  the  unavoidable  basis  for  physiology.    Whereas  in  our  modern 


246  THEOSOPHICAL 

i\ny  it   is  ]>>\cliol<)jr\    that   is  l)ciii;r  liascd    i  liy  our  (jnul  scientists  i   upon 
I)hysiolo<r\ . 

Psychometry.  /.//.,  ■'Soiil-nit'asurinjr'" ;  rcadinfr  <'»•  st'ciufr.  not  with 
thr  |)hysical  ivcs.  hut   with  the  soul  or  intnr  Sij^ht. 

Psychophobia.  Jjif..  " Soul-fear, "'  applied  to  materialists  and  certain 
atheists,  who  heeoMie  struck"  with  madness  at  the  very  mention  of  Soul 
oi-  Spirit. 

Psylli  (dr.).     Serpent-cliai'Miers  of  Africa  and   Kjx.\i)t. 

Ptah,  oi-  I'fhdli  (E(/.).  The  son  of  Knepli  in  the  Ejryptian  Pantheon. 
He  is  the  Principle  of  Ligrlit  and  Life  tliroujrh  which  "creation"  or 
I'atiier  evolution  took  place.  The  Efjyptian  logos  and  creator,  the 
f)(  iniurc/os.  A  very  old  deity,  as,  aceordin<:j  to  Herodotus,  he  had  a  tem- 
ple erected  to  him  by  Menes,  the  tirst  kin^^  of  Eg^ypt.  He  is  "^iver  of 
life"  and  the  self-born,  and  the  fathei-  of  Apis,  the  sacred  bull,  con- 
ceived throup:!)  a  i-ay  from  the  Sun.  Ptah  is  thus  the  prototype  of 
Osiris,  a  later  deity.  Herodotus  makes  him  a  father  of  the  Kabiri,  the 
raystery-g:ods ;  and  the  Targum  of  Jerusalem  says:  "Eg^yptians  called 
the  wisdom  of  the  First  Intellect  Ptah";  hence  he  is  Mahat  the  "divine 
wisdom";  thougrh  from  another  aspect  he  is  Sicabhiivat,  the  self-created 
substance,  as  a  prayer  addressed  to  him  in  the  tiUual  of  the  Dead  says, 
after  callings  Ptah  "father  of  fathers  and  of  all  jrods,  jrenerator  of  all 
men  produced  from  his  substance":  "Tiiou  art  without  father,  being: 
engendered  by  thy  own  will  ;  thou  art  without  mother,  being  horn  by  the 
renewal  of  fhiiK    oicit  suhst(nie(   from   whom  proceeds  substance". 

Puja  (Sk.).  An  olferiufi- :  worship  and  divine  honours  offered  to  an 
idol  or  something  sacred. 

Pulastya  (Sk.).  One  of  the  seven  "mind-born  sons"  of  Brahma; 
the  reputed  fatiier  of  the  Nagas  (serpents,  also  Initiates)  and  other 
s\mbolical  creatures. 

Pums  tSk.).     Spirit,  supreme  Puruslia,  Man. 

Punarjanma  fSk.).     The  power  of  evolving  objective  manifestations; 

motion   of   foi-ms;   also,    re-birth. 

Pundarik-aksha  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "lotus-eyed",  a  title  of  Vishnu. 
"Supreme  and  imjierishahle  gloi'y".  as  translated  by  some  Orientalists. 

Puraka  (Sk.).  Iid)reatliing  process;  a  way  of  breathing  as  regulated 
accoi'diiig  to  the  ju'esciMbed  rules  of  Hatha  Yoga. 

Puranas  (Sk.).  J  At.,  "ancient".  A  collection  of  symbolical  and 
allegoi'ical  writings — eighteen  in  number  now — sup})ose(l  to  have  been 
composed  by  Vyasa,  the  author  of  Mahabhdrata. 

Purohitas  (Sk.).     Family  priests;  Brahmans. 

Pururavas  (Sk.).  The  son  of  Budha,  the  son  of  Soma  (the  moon), 
and  of  11a  ;  famous  for  being  the  first  to  produce  fire  by  the  friction  of 
two  ])ieces  of  wood,  and  make  it  (the  fire)  triple.     An  occult  character. 


GLOSSARY  247 

Purusha  (Sk.).  Man",  heavenly  man.  Spirit,  the  same  as  Xarayana 
ill   another  aspt'ct.     "The   Spiritual   Self." 

Purusha  Narayana  (Sk.).    Primordial  male— Brahma. 

Purushottama  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "best  of  men";  metaphysically,  however. 
it  is  s])irit,  the  Supreme  Soul  of  the  universe;  a  title  of  Vishnu. 

Purvaja  (Sk.).  "Pregenetic'',  the  same  as  the  Orphie  J'rotologos:  a 
title  of  Vishnu. 

Purvashadha   (Sk.).     An  asterism. 

Piishan  (Sk.).  A  Vedic  deity,  the  real  uu^aiiing  of  wliicli  remains 
unknown  to  Orientalists.  It  is  qualified  as  the  "Nourisher".  the  feeder 
of  all  (helpless)  beings.  Esoteric  philosophy  explains  the  meaning. 
Speaking  of  it  the  TaitUrhja  Brahmana  says  that,  "When  Prajapati 
formed  living  beings,  Pushan  nourished  them".  This  then  is  the  same 
mysterious  force  that  nourislies  the  f<ptus  and  unborn  babe,  by  O.wiosis, 
and  which  is  called  the  "atmospheric  (or  akasic)  luirse",  and  the  "father 
nourisher".  When  the  lunar  Pitris  had  evolved  men,  these  remained 
senseless  and  helpless,  and  it  is  "Pushan  wlio  fed  primeval  man".  Also 
a  name  of  the  Sun. 

Pushkala  (Sk.)  or  Fitskola.  A  palm  leaf  prepared  for  writing  on. 
used  in  Ceylon.  All  tlie  native  books  are  written  on  such  palm  leaves, 
and  last  for  centuries. 

Pushkara  (8k.).  A  blue  lotus;  the  seventh  Dwipa  or  zone  of 
Bharatavarsha  (India).  A  famous  lake  near  Ajmere  ;  also  the  proper 
name  of  several  persons. 

Puto  (Sk.).  An  island  in  Cliina  where  Kwan-Sliai-Viii  and  Kwan-Vin 
have  a  number  of  temples  and  monasteries. 

Putra  (Sk.).    A  son. 

Pu-tsi  K'iun-ling  (Chin.).  Lit.,  "the  Universal  Saviour  of  all 
beings".      A  title  of  Avalokiteswara,  and  also  of  Buddha. 

Pygmalion  (Or.).  A  celebrated  sculptor  and  statuary  in  tlie  island  of 
('y])rus,  who  l)ecame  enamoured  of  a  statue  he  had  made.  So  the  God- 
dess of  beauty,  taking  pity  on  him,  changed  it  into  a  living  woman 
(Ovid,  Met.).     The  above  is  an  allegory  of  the  soul. 

Pymander  (Gr.).  The  "Thought  divine".  The  Egyptian  Prometheus 
and  the  personified  Nous  or  divine  light,  whieii  appears  to  and  instructs 
Hermes  Trismegistus,  in  a  hermetic  work  called  "Pymander". 

Pyrrha  (Gr.).  A  daughter  of  Epimatheos  and  Pandora,  who  was 
married  to  Deucalion.  After  a  deluge  when  mankind  was  almost  annihil- 
ated, Pyrrha  and  Deucalion  nuide  men  and  women  out  of  stones  which 
they  threw  behind  thcni. 

Pyrrhonism  (Gr.).  The  doctrine  of  Scepticism  as  first  taught  by 
Pyrrho,  though  his  system  was  far  more  philosophical  than  the  blank 
dcnial   of  oui-  modern  Pvrrhonists. 


248  THEOSOI'JIICM. 

Pythagoras  (iir.i.  TIil-  most  famous  of  mystic  pliilosoplicrs.  born  at 
8amos.  about  58(5  n.v.  lie  seems  to  bave  traveUcd  all  over  tiw  world, 
and  to  liave  culled  bis  pbibisopby  fi'om  tbe  various  systems  to  whieli 
be  bad  access.  Tbus  lie  studied  tbe  esoteric  sciences  witb  tbc  Brach- 
mams  of  India,  and  astronomy  and  astrolopry  in  Cluddea  and  Ef^ypt. 
Tie  is  known  to  this  day  in  llir  formei-  country  under  tbe  name  u\' 
Vavanacbarya  I'lnuian  t.aelier"  .  After  returnin^'  lie  settled  in 
Crotona.  in  Majjiia  (Jrccia.  wbere  lie  establisbed  a  collcfre  to  wbicb  very 
.soon  resorted  all  tbe  best  intellects  of  tbe  civilised  centres.  His  fatber 
was  one  Mne.sarcbus  of  Samos,  and  was  a  man  of  noble  birtb  and  b-arn- 
inpr.  It  was  Pytbajroras  wbo  was  tbe  first  to  teacli  tbe  beliocentrie 
system,  and  wbo  was  tbe  p-eatest  proficient  in  preometry  of  bis  century. 
It  was  be  also  wbo  created  tbe  word  "pbilosoplier".  composed  of  two 
words  meaninp:  a  "lover  of  \v\H(]om"--philo-sophos.  As  tbe  grreatest 
matbeiiietician.  jreometer  and  astronomer  of  bistorical  antiquity,  and 
also  tbe  biprbest  of  tbe  metapbysicians  and  scholars.  Pythagoras  has  won 
imperishable  fame.  He  tauprbt  reincarnation  as  it  is  professed  in  India 
and  niueli  else  of  tile  Secret  Wisdom. 

Pythagorean  Pentacle  (Gr.).  A  Kabbali.stic  six-])ointed  star  with  an 
eajrle  at  the  ape.x  and  a  bull  and  a  lion  under  tbe  face  of  a  man;  a  my.stic 
symbol  adopted  by  tbe  Eastern  and  Kniiuin  Christians,  who  place  these 
animals  beside  the  foui-  Evanfrelists. 

Pythia  or  I'ljlhoinss  ((h-.).  IModern  dictionaries  inform  us  that  the 
term  means  one  who  delivered  the  oracles  at  the  temple  of  Delphi,  and 
"any  female  supposed  to  have  the  spirit  of  divination  in  her — a  witch" 
(Webster).  This  is  iieither  true,  just  nor  correct.  On  the  authority  of 
Iambi ichus.  Plntarch  and  others,  a  Pythia  was  a  priestess  chosen  amonp: 
tbe  soisifiirs  of  tbe  poorer  classes,  and  placed  in  a  temple  wIkm-c  oracular 
powers  were  exercised.  There  she  had  a  room  secluded  from  all  but  the 
chief  Ilierophant  and  Seei-.  and  once  admitted,  was.  like  a  nun,  lost  to 
the  world.  Sittin<r  on  a  tripod  or  brass  placed  over  a  fissure  in  the 
jrround,  through  which  arose  intoxicating  vapours,  these  subterranean 
exhalations,  penetrating  her  whole  system,  produced  tbe  prophetic 
mania,  in  which  abnormal  state  she  delivered  oracles.  Aristophanes  in 
"Vjestas"  I.,  reg.  28,  calls  tbe  Pythia  tuntriloqua  vates  or  tbe  "ventrilo- 
quial  prophetess'',  on  account  of  her  stonHich-\oicx\  Tbe  ancients  placed 
tbe  soul  of  man  (the  lower  Manas)  or  bis  personal  self-consciousness,  in 
the  pit  of  bis  stomach.  We  find  in  the  fourth  verse  of  tbe  second 
NahhdiKfiishta  hymn  of  the  Brahmans:  "Hear,  0  sons  of  the  gods,  one 
who  speaks  through  bis  name  (ndhha),  for  be  hails  you  in  your  dwell- 
ings!" This  is  a  modern  somnambulic  phenomenon.  Tbe  navel  was 
regarded  in  antiquity  as  "tbe  circle  of  tb(^  sun",  the  seat  of  divine 
internal  light.  Therefore  was  the  oracle  of  Apollo  at  Delphi,  the  city  of 
Dclphus,  the  womb  or  abdomen — while  tbe  seat  of  the  temple  was  called 
tbe  omphalos,  navel.  As  well-known,  a  number  of  mesmerized  subjects 
can  read  letters,  hear,  smell  and  see  through  that  part  of  their  body.  In 


GLOSSAKY  249 


India  there  exists  to  this  day  a  belief  (also  among  the  Parsis)  that 
adepts  have  flames  in  their  navels,  which  enlighten  for  them  all  dark- 
ness and  unveil  the  spiritual  world.  It  is  called  with  the  Zoroastnans 
the  lamp  of  Dcshtur  or  the  "High  Priest";  and  the  light  or  radiance  of 
the  Dikshita  (tlie  initiate)  with  the  Hindus. 

Pytho  (Gr.).     The  same  as  0&— a  fiendish,  devilish  influence;  the  oh 
through  wliieli  tlie  sorcerers  arc  said  to  work. 


250  THKoS()J'Jllr.\|. 


Q. 


v^.— Till'  sfv.'iitrriitli  It'ttt'i-  of  till'  Kii«rlisli  Alplialnt.  ll  is  tin-  (►l)s»t- 
Irte  vKoliaii  Qoppa,  ami  the  llthnw  h'o}>h.  As  a  mmit  ral  it  is  100,  ami 
its  symbol  is  the  bai'k  of  tin-  ln'atl  from  the  I'ars  to  tho  neck.  With  the 
/Eoliaii  Occultists  it  stood  for  the  symbol  of  (lifVcrciitiation. 

Qabbalah  (Il<hj.  The  ancient  Cbahlcan  Secret  Doctrine,  ablmviatcd 
into  Kabala.  An  occult  system  handed  down  by  oral  transmission;  but 
which,  thoufrh  acceptinjr  tradition,  is  not  in  itself  composed  of  merely 
traditional  teachinfjs,  as  it  was  once  a  fundamental  science,  now  dis- 
(ifrured  by  the  additions  of  centuries,  and  l)V  inter|)nlation  by  the 
Western  Occultists,  especially  by  Cliristiiui  Mystics.  It  ti-cats  of  hitherto 
esoteric  interpretations  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  and  teaches  several 
methods  of  interpreting;  liiblical  allejrories.  Orijrinall>-  the  doctrines 
were  transmitted  "from  mouth  to  ear"  only.  sa.\s  Dr.  W.  Wynn  West- 
cott,  "in  an  oral  manner  from  teacher  to  pupil  who  received  them; 
hence  the  name  Kabbalah,  Qal)alah  or  Cabbala  from  the  Hebrew  root 
QBL.  to  receive.  Besi(h'S  this  Theoretic  Kabbalah,  there  was  create<l 
a  Practical  branch,  which  is  concerned  with  the  Ilebn-w  letters,  as 
types  alike  of  Sounds.  Xund)ers,  and  Ideas."  (See  "Gematria".  "No- 
tarieon".  "•Temura".)  For  the  orifjinal  l)ook  of  the  i^ahhaUih — the 
Zohar — see  further  on.  But  the  Zohar  we  have  now  is  imt  the  Zoluir 
left  by  Simeon  Ben  Jocliai  to  his  son  and  secretary  as  an  heirloom.  The 
author  of  the  present  approximation  was  one  Moses  de  Tjcon.  a  Jew  of 
the  XrUth  century  (See  "Kabalah"  and  "Zohar".) 

Qadmon,  Adam,  or  Adam  Kadmon  (Hib.).  The  Heavenly  or  CeU'S- 
tial  Man.  the  Microcosm  ((j.v.)  He  is  tiie  manifested  Lo«;os;  the  third 
Lojros  according  to  Occultism,  or  the  Paradijrm  of  Humanity. 

Qai-3rin  fllcb.).     The  same  as  Cain. 

Qaniratha  (Mazd.).  Our  earth,  in  the  Zoi-oastrian  Scriptures,  whicli 
is  pliii'.d,  as  taufrht  in  the  Srcrrt  Doctrine,  in  the  midst  of  the  other 
six  Karslncars,  or  {rlobes  of  the  terrestrial  diain.  (See  Snnt  Doctrim  , 
11.    p.    7:)9. 1 

Q'lippoth  I  III}).),  or  Klippolh.  The  world  of  Demons  or  Shells;  the 
same  as  the  Aseeyatic  World,  called  also  Olam  Klippoth.  It  is  the 
residence  of  Hamad,  the  Prince  of  Dai-kuess  in  the  Kabbalistic  allejrories. 
But  note  what  we  read  in  the  Zohar  (ii.  43a):  "For  the  .siTvice  of  the 
Auf^elic  World  the  Holy.  .  .  .  made  Samael  and  liis  legions,  i.e., 
the  world  of  action,  who  are  as  it  were  the  clouds  to  be  used  (by  the 
higher  or  upper  Spirits,  our  Efjos)  to  ride  upon  in  their  descent  to  the 
earth,  and  serve,  as  it  were,  for  their  horses".  This,  in  con.iunction 
with  the  fact  that  Q'lippoth  contains  the  matter  of  wliicli  stars.  |)lanets. 


GLOSSARY  251 

and  even  men  jn-c  made  slunvs  tliat  Samael  witli  Ins  Icjiions  is  simply 
<'haotic,  turbnltMit  mattt-r.  which  is  used  in  its  finer  state  by  spirits  to 
i-obe  themselves  in.  For  six-aking:  of  the  "vesture"  or  form  (rupa)  of 
tlie  incarnatinpr  Ef/os,  it  is  said  in  the  Occult  Catechism  that  they,  the 
]\Ianastiputras  or  Sous  of  Wisdom,  use  for  the  consolidation  of  their 
forms,  in  order  to  descend  into  lower  spheres,  the  dregs  of  Swahhdvat,  or 
that  plastic  matter  which  is  througfhout  Space,  in  other  words,  primor- 
dial tins.  And  these  drej^s  are  what  the  Epryptians  have  called  Typhon 
and  modern  Europeans  Satan.  Samael,  ftc.  etc.  I)t  us  ( st  Di  man  invrr- 
siis — the  Demon  is  the  linituj  of  God. 

Quadrivium  (Lat.).  A  term  used  by  the  Scholastics  duriufr  the 
Middle  AfTes  to  desifinate  the  last  four  paths  of  learninj? — of  which 
there  were  oriji^inally  seven.  Thus  grammar,  rhetoric  and  log^ic  were 
called  the  triviKni,  and  arithmetic,  geometry,  music  and  a.stronomy  (the 
PythajJTorean  obligatory  sciences)   went  under  the  name  of  qiiadriviinyi. 

Quetzo-Cohuatl  (MrxJ.  The  .serpent-god  in  the  Mexican  Scriptures 
and  legends.  His  wand  and  other  "land-marks''  show  him  to  be  .some 
great  Initiate  of  antiquity,  who  received  the  name  of  "Serpent"  on 
account  of  his  wisdom,  long  life  and  powers.  To  this  day  the  aboriginal 
tribes  of  Mexico  call  themselves  by  the  names  of  various  re])tiles.  animals 
and  birds. 

Quiche  Cosmogony.  Calleil  Vopul  Vuh;  di.scovered  by  tiie  Abbe  Bras- 
seur  de   Bourboug.      (See  "Popol   Vuh".) 

Quietists.  A  religious  sect  founded  by  a  Spanish  monk  named 
Molinos.  Their  chief  doctrine  was  that  contemplation  (an  internal  .statf 
of  complete  rest  and  passivity)  was  the  only  religious  practice  possibb-. 
and  con.stituted  the  whole  of  religious  observances.  They  were  the 
Western  Hatha  Yogis  and  passed  their  time  in  trying  to  separate  their 
minds  from  the  objects  of  the  senses.  The  practice  became  a  fashion  in 
France  and  also  in  Russia  during  the  earl\-  portion  of  this  century. 

Quinanes.  A  very  ancient  race  of  giants,  of  whom  there  are  many 
traditions,  not  only  in  the  folk-lore  but  in  the  history  of  Central  America. 
Occult  science  teaches  that  the  race  which  preceded  our  own  human 
race  was  one  of  giants  which  gradually  decreased,  after  the  Atlantean 
deluge  had  almost  swept  them  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  to  the  present 
size    of   iiijiii. 

Quindecemvir  (Lat.).  The  Roman  jtrifst  who  had  charge  of  th<- 
Silnlline   books. 

Qu-tamy  (Chald.).  The  name  of  the  mystic  who  receives  the  revela- 
tions of  the  moon-goddess  in  the  ancient  Chaldean  work,  translated 
into  Arabic,  and  retranslated  by  Chwolsohn  into  Cfrman.  under  thr 
name  of  Naf)athi  an  Agriciiltiin  . 


252  THKOSOI'JIK    \1 


R. 


R. 


— Tlif  fifjlltt't'iitli  Icttcl'  of  tlir  ;il|»li;il)rt  ;  ""tlif  (•aiiilic"  ;is  its  sound 
reiniiuls  oiif  of  a  snarl.  Tn  the  Hebrew  alphabet  it  is  the  twentieth,  and 
its  muneral  is  200.  It  i.s  equivalent  as  Ri  sh  to  the  divine  name  Rahim 
(clemency)  ;  and  its  symbols  are,  a  sphere,  a  head,  or  a  circle. 

Ra  (Eg.).  The  divine  Univer.sal  Soul  in  its  manifested  aspect — the 
ever-burniiifr  ligrlit ;  also  the  personified  Sun. 

Rabbis  (Ilch.).  Oripinally  teachers  of  the  Secret  iMysteries.  the 
(J(il)hnl(ih  :  later,  every  Levite  of  the  priestly  caste  became  a  teacher  and 
a  Ral)bin.     'See  the  series  of  Kabbalistic  Rabbis  by  w.w.w.) 

1  Rabbi  Abulafia  of  Saraprossa.  born  in  1240,  formed  a  school  of  Kab- 
balah named  after  him;  his  chief  works  were  Thr  Srvrn  Pafha  of  the 
Lnic  and  TJn    Kpi.<;th  to  R(iht){  Solomon. 

2  Rabbi  Akiba.  Author  of  a  famous  Kabbalistic  work,  the  "Alplia- 
bet  of  R.  A.",  which  treats  every  letter  as  a  sym))ol  of  an  idea  and  an 
em])lem  of  .some  sentiment ;  the  BooJi  of  Enoch  was  originally  a  portion  of 
this  work,  which  appeared  at  the  close  of  the  eifrbtli  eentury.  Tt  was 
not    purely   a   Kabbalistic   treatise. 

3  Rabbi  Azariel  ben  Menachem  i  a.d.  IKiO.  Tlie  authoi-  of  the 
Commcntarfi  on  the  Ten  Sephiroth,  which  is  the  oldest  purely  Kabba- 
listic work  extant,  setting  aside  the  Scphcr  Yetzirah,  which  although 
older,  is  not  concerned  with  the  Kabbalistic  Sephiroth.  He  was  the 
pupil  of  Isaac  the  Blind,  who  is  the  reputed  father  of  the  Piuropean 
Kabbalah,  and  he  was  the  teacher  of  the  equally  famous  R.  Closes 
Nachmaiiides. 

4  Rabbi  Moses  Botarel  (1480).  Author  of  a  famous  commentary  on 
the  Scphtr  Yctzirah ;  he  taught  that  by  ascetic  life  and  the  use  of  in- 
vocatioii.  a  man's  dreams  might  be  made  prophetic. 

5  Rabbi  Chajim  Vital  (IGOO).  The  great  exponent  of  the  Kabbalah 
as  taught  R.  Isaac  Loria :  author  of  one  of  the  most  famous  works,  Otz 
Chiini,  or  Trrr,  of  Life;  from  this  Knorr  von  Ro.senroth  has  taken  the 
Book  on  the.  Rashith  ha  Gilgalim,  revolutions  of  souls,  or  scheme  of 
reincarnations. 

6  Rabbi  Ibn  Gebirol.  A  famous  Hebrew  Rabbi,  author  of  the  hymTi 
Krfhcr  Malchvth,  or  Royal  Diadem,  which  appeared  about  1050;  it  is  a 
beautiful  poem,  embodying  the  cosmic  doctrines  of  Aristotle,  and  it  even 
now  forms  part  of  the  Jewish  special  service  for  the  evening  preceding 
the  great  annual  Day  of  Atonement  (See  Gin.sburg  and  Sachs  on  the 
Rcligimis  Poetrj/  of  the  Spanish  Jews).  This  author  is  also  known  as 
Aviceliron. 


GLOSSARY  253 

7  Rabbi  Gikatilla.  A  {listiiifruislipd  Kabbalist  who  flourisliod  al)ont 
1300:  he  wrott-  tlu-  famous  books,  The  Garden  of  Nuts,  The  Gate  to  thr 
Vowel  Points,  The  mystery  of  the  shining  Metal,  and  The  Gates  of  Right- 
emisncss.  Ho  laid  esppcial  stress  on  the  use  of  Gematria.  Notarieon  and 
Temura. 

8  Rabbi  Isaac  the  Blind  of  Posquiero.  The  first  who  puldidy  tauglit 
in  Europe,  about  a.d.  1200,  the  Theosophie  doctrines  of  the  Kabbalah. 

9  Rabbi  Loria  (also  written  Lvria,  and  also  namea  Ari  from  his 
initials).  Founded  a  .school  of  the  Kabbaleih  circa  1560.  He  did  not 
write  any  works,  but  his  disciples  treasured  up  his  tt'aeliinp:s.  and 
R.  Chajim  Vital  published  them. 

10  Rabbi  Moses  Cordovero  (a.d.  1550).  The  author  of  several  Kab- 
balistic  works  of  a  wide  rei)utation,  viz.,  A  Sweet  Light,  The  Book  of 
Retirement,  and  T'he  Garehn  of  Poniegranatrs;  this  latter  can  be  read  in 
Latin  in  Knorr  von  Rosenroth's  Kabbalah  Dmueleita,  entitled  Traetatu<i 
ele  Aniyno,  ex  libro  Pareles  Rinunonim.  Cordovero  is  notable  for  an 
adherence  to  the  strictly  metaphysical  part,  ignorinfj  the  wonder-work- 
ing branch  which  Rabbi  Sabbatai  Zevi  practised,  and  almost  perished  in 
the  pursuit  of. 

11  Rabbi  Moses  de  Leon  (circa  1290  a.d.).  The  editor  and  first  pub- 
lisher of  the  first  Zohar  or  "Splendour",  the  most  famous  of  all  the 
Kabbalistic  volumes,  and  almost  the  only  one  of  which  any  large  part 
has  been  translated  into  English.  This  Zohar  is  a.sserted  to  be  in  the 
main  the  production  of  the  still  more  famous  Rabbi  Simon  ben  Jochai. 
who  lived  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Titus. 

12  Rabbi  Moses  Maimonides  fdied  1304).  A  famous  Hebrew  Rabbi 
and  author,  who  condemned  the  use  of  charms  and  amulet.s,  and  objected 
to  the  Kabbalistic  use  of  the  divine  names. 

13  Rabbi  Sabbatai  Zevi  (born  1641).  A  very  famous  Kabbalist.  who 
passing  beyond  the  dogma  became  of  great  reputation  as  a  thaumaturgist, 
working  wonders  by  tlie  divine  names.  Later  in  life  he  claimed  ^lessiah- 
ship  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Sultan  IMohammed  IV.  of  Turkey,  and 
would  have  been  murdered,  but  saved  his  life  by  adopting  the  Moham- 
medan religion.     (See  Jost  on  Judetism  anel  it.<>  Seets.) 

14  Rabbi  Simon  ben  Jochai  (circa  a.d.  70-80).  It  is  round  this  name 
that  cluster  the  mystery  and  poetry  of  the  origin  of  the  Kabbalah  as  a 
gift  of  the  deity  to  mankind.  Tradition  has  it  that  the  Kabbedah  was  a 
divine  theosophy  first  taught  by  God  to  a  company  of  angels,  and  that 
.some  glimpses  of  its  perfection  were  conferred  upon  Adam ;  that  the 
wisdom  passed  from  him  unto  Noah ;  thence  to  Abraham,  from  whom 
the  Egj-ptians  of  his  era  learned  a  portion  of  the  doctrine.  ]\Ioses  de- 
rived a  partial  initiation  from  the  land  of  his  birth,  and  this  was  per- 
fected by  direct  communications  with  the  deity.  From  ]\Ioses  it  passed  to 
the  seventy  elders  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  from  them  the  theosophie 
scheme  was  handed  from  generation  to  generation;  David  and  Solomon 
especially  became   masters  nf  this  concealed  doctrine.    No  attempt,  the 


254  THEOSOPHICAL 

legends  tell  us,  was  nuulc  to  commit  the  sacred  knowledfre  to  writin;; 
until  the  time  of  tlic  di'structiou  of  tlio  second  Temple  hy  Titus,  when 
Rahhi  Simon  ben  Jochai,  cseapinjj  from  the  bcsiepred  Jerusalem,  con- 
cealed himself  in  a  cave,  where  he  remained  for  twelve  years.  Here  he,  a 
Kahhalist  already,  was  furtiier  instructed  ])y  the  proj)het  Elias.  Iler-- 
Simon  taujjht  his  disciples,  and  his  chief  pupils.  Rabbi  Eliezer  and  Rabbi 
Abba,  committed  to  writinjj  those  teachinpfs  which  in  later  ag^es  became 
known  as  the  Zohar,  and  were  certainly  published  afresh  in  Spain  by 
Rabl)i  IMoses  de  Leon,  about  1280.  A  fierce  contest  has  rapred  for  cen- 
turies between  the  learned  Rabbis  of  Europe  around  the  origin  of  the 
legend,  and  it  seems  quite  hopeless  to  expect  ever  to  arrive  at  an  ac- 
eurate  decision  as  to  what  portion  of  the  Zohar,  if  any,  is  as  old  as 
Simon  ben  Jochai.     (See  "Zohar",)      [w.w.w.] 

Radha  (Sk.).  The  shepherdess  among  the  Gopia  fslie)>herdesses)  of 
Krislina.  who  was  the  wife  of  the  god. 

Raga  (Sk.).  One  of  the  five  Klcshas  (afflictions)  in  Patau jali's  Yoga 
])hilosophy.  In  Sdnkhija  Kdrikd,  it  is  the  "obstruction"  called  love  and 
desire  in  the  physical  or  terrestrial  sense.  The  five  Klcshas  are :  Avidyd. 
or  ignorance;  Asmitd,  selfishness,  or  "I-am-ness";  Bdqa,  love;  Divesha, 
hatred ;  and  Ahhinivcsa,  dread  of  suffering. 

Ragnarok  (Scand.).  A  kind  of  metaphysical  entity  called  the 
"Destroyer"  and  the  "Twilight  of  the  Gods",  the  two-thirds  of  whom 
are  destroyed  at  the  "Last  Battle"  in  the  Edda.  Ragnarok  lies  in  chains 
on  the  ledge  of  a  rock  so  long  as  there  are  some  good  men  in  the  world ; 
but  when  all  laws  are  broken  and  all  virtue  and  good  vanish  from  it, 
then  Ragnarok  -will  be  unbound  and  allowed  to  bring  every  imaginable 
evil  and  disaster  on  the  doomed  w'orld. 

Ragon,  J.  M.  A  French  Mason,  a  distinguuished  writer  and  great 
synibologist,  who  tried  to  bring  IMasonry  back  to  its  pristine  purity.  He 
was  born  at  Bruges  in  1789,  was  received  when  quite  a  boy  into  the 
Lodge  and  Chapter  of  the  "Vrais  Amis",  and  upon  removing  to  Paris 
founded  the  Society  of  the  Trinosophes.  It  is  rumoured  that  he  was  the 
po.ssessor  of  a  number  of  papers  given  to  him  by  the  famous  Count  de 
St.  Germain,  from  which  Ire  had  all  his  remarkable  knowledge  upon 
early  Masonry.  He  died  at  Paris  in  1866,  leaving  a  quantity  of  books 
written  by  himself  and  masses  of  MSS.,  which  were  bequeathed  by  him 
to  the  "Grand  Orient".  Of  the  mass  of  his  published  works  very  few 
are  obtainable,  while  others  have  entirely  disappeared.  This  is  due  to 
mysterious  persons  (Jesuits,  it  is  believed)  who  hastened  to  buy  up 
every  edition  they  could  find  after  his  death.  In  short,  his  works  are 
now  extremely  rare. 

Rahasya  (Sk.).    A  name  of  the  Upanishads.     Lit.,  secret  essence  of 

knowledge. 

Rabat.  The  same  as  "Arhat";  the  adept  who  becomes  entirely  free 
from  any  desire  on  this  j)lane,  by  acquiring  divine  knowledge  and 
powers. 


GLOSSARY  255 

Ra'hmin  Seth  (Hch.).  According  to  the  Kahdd  (or  Qdbbalah),  the 
"sonl-sparks",  contained  in  Adam  (Kadmon),  went  into  three  sources, 
the  heads  of  which  were  his  three  sons.  Thus,  while  the  "soul  spark 
(or  Ego)  called  Chesed  went  into  Habel,  and  Geboor-ah  into  Qai-yin 
(Cain^— Ra'hmin  went  into  Seth,  and  these  three  sons  were  divided  into 
seventy  human  species  called  "the  principal  roots  of  the  human  race'  . 
Rahu  (Sk.).  A  Daitya  (demon)  whose  lower  parts  were  like  a  dra- 
gon's tail.  He  made  liimself  immortal  by  robbing  the  gods  of  some 
Ainrita^tho  elixir  of  divine  life— for  which  they  were  churning  the 
ocean  of  milk.  Tenable  to  deprive  him  of  his  immortality.  Vishnu  exiled 
him  from  the  earth  and  made  of  him  the  constellation  Draco,  his  head 
being  called  Rahu  and  his  tail  Ketu— astronomically,  the  ascending  and 
descending  nodes.  With  the  latter  appendage  he  has  ever  since  waged  a 
destructive  war  on  the  denouncers  of  his  robbery,  the  sun  and  the  moon, 
and  (during  the  eclipse)  is  said  to  swallow  them.  Of  course  the  fable 
has  a  mystic  and  occult  meaning  . 

Rahula  (Sk.).     The  name  of  Gautama  Buddha's  son. 
Raibhyas  (Sk.).     A  class  of  gods  in  the  5th  :\ranvantara. 
Raivata  Manvantara  (Sk.).    The  life-cycle  presided  over  by  Raivata 
Maiiu.    As  he  is  the  fifth  of  the  fourteen  Manus  (in  Esotercism,  Dhifan 
Chohons),  there  being  seven  roof-Manus  and  seven  sff£Z-:Manus  for  the 
seven  Rounds  of  our  terrestrial  chain  of  globes  (See  Esot.  Buddlu.wi  by 
A.  P.  Sinnett,  and  the  Sccrrt  Doctrine,  Vol.  T.,  "Brahminical  Chronol- 
ogy"), Raivata  presided  over  the  third  Round  and  was  its  roof-Manu. 
Raja  (Sk.).   A  Prince  or  King  in  India. 

Rajagriha  (Sk.).  A  citv  in  Magadha  famous  for  its  conversion  to 
Buddhism  in  the  days  of  'the  Buddhist  kings.  It  w^as  their  residence 
from  Bimbisara  to  Asoka,  and  was  tlie  seat  of  the  first  Synod,  or 
Buddhist  Council,  held  510  B.C. 

Rajarshis  (Sk.).  The  King-Rishis  or  King-Adepts,  one  of  the  tliree 
classes  of  Rishis  in  India :  the  same  as  the  King-Hierophants  of  ancient 
Egypt. 

Rajas  (Sk.).  The  "quality  of  foulness"  (i.e.,  differentiation),  and 
activity  in  the  Purdnas.  One  of  the  three  Gunas  or  divisions  in  the  cor- 
relations of  matter  and  nature,  representing  form  and  change. 

Rajasas  ^S7.-.).  The  elder  Agnishwattas—t\\o  Fire-Pitris.  "fire" 
standing  as  a  symbol  of  enlightenment  and  intellect. 

Raja- Yoga  ASk.).  The  true  system  of  developing  psychic  and  spirit- 
ual powers  and  union  with  one's  Higher  Self— or  the  Supreme  Spirit, 
as  the  profane  express  it.  The  exercise,  regulation  and  concentration  of 
thought.  Raja-Yoga  is  opposed  to  Hatha-Yoga,  the  physical  or  psycho- 
physiological training  in  asceticism. 

Raka  (Sk.).     The  day  of  the  full  moon:  a  day  for  occult  practices. 
Raksha  (Sk.).     An  amulet  prepared  during  the  full  or  new  moon. 


256  THEOSOPHICAL 

Rakshasas  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "raw  caters ".  and  in  the  popular  supersti- 
tion i\il  sfiirits,  demons.  Esoterieally.  liowcver,  they  are  the  (iibhorim 
(giants)  of  the  Bible,  the  Fourth  liace  or  the  Atlanteans.  (See  Secret 
Doctrine,    II..    105.) 

Rakshasi-Bhasha  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  language  of  the  Rakshasas.  In 
real  it  \-.  thf  spcccli  of  the  .\tlaiitca)is.  our  jrijrantie  foi-cfathers  of  tin- 
t'ourth   Root-race. 

Ram  Mohum  Roy  (Sk.).  The  well-known  Indian  refonntr  who  came 
to  l]iii:Ian<l  in  1>3IJ  and  died  there. 

Rama  (Sk.).  The  seventh  avatar  or  incarnation  of  Vishnu;  the 
eldest  son  of  Kinjr  Dasaratha.  of  the  Solar  Race.  Ilis  full  name  is  RTima- 
Chandra.  and  he  is  the  hero  of  the  RamCvjana.  He  married  Sita,  who 
was  tht>  ft-male  avatar  of  Lakshmi.  Vishnu's  wife,  and  was  carried  away 
by  Ravana  the  Demon-King:  of  Lanka  which  act  led  to  the  famous  war. 

Ramayana  (Sk.).  The  famous  epic  poem  collated  with  the  Mahabhd- 
rata.  It  looks  as  if  this  poem  was  either  the  orif^inal  of  the  Ili<id  or 
vice  versa,  except  that  in  Rdmai/ana  the  allies  of  Rama  are  monkeys, 
led  by  Hanuman.  and  monster  birds  and  other  animals,  all  of  whom 
lipriit  against  tlie  liiikshasas,  or  demons  and  giants  of  Lanka. 

Rasa  (Sk.).  The  my.stery-dance  performed  by  Krishna  and  his  Gopis, 
tlie  shepherdesses,  represented  in  a  yearly  festival  to  this  day,  especially 
in  Rajastan.  Astronomicallj'  it  is  Krishna — the  Sun — around  whom 
circle  the  planets  and  tlie  signs  of  the  Zodiac  symbolised  by  the  Gopis. 
The  .same  as  the  "circle-dance"  of  the  Amazons  around  the  priapic 
image,  and  the  dance  of  the  daughters  of  Shiloh  (Judges  xxi.),  and  that 
of  King  David  ai-onnd  the  ark.  (See  Isis  Unveiled,  II.,  pp.  45.  331  and 
332.) 

Rashi  (Sk.).  An  astrological  division,  tlie  sixth,  relating  to  Kanya 
(Virgo)  the  sixth  sign  in  the  Zodiac. 

Rashi-Chakra  (Sk.).     The  Zodiac. 

Rasit  (H(h.).    AVisdom. 

RasoUasa  (Sk.).  The  tirst  of  the  eight  physical  perfections,  or 
Siddhis  (plienomena).  of  the  Hatha  Yogis.  Rasolhisa  is  the  prompt 
evolution  at  will  of  the  juices  of  the  body  independently  of  any  nutri- 
ment from  without. 

Rasshoo  (Eg.).  The  solar  fires  formed  in  and  out  of  the  primordial 
"watr]-s".  or  substance,  of  Space. 

Ratnavabhasa  Kalpa  (Sk.).  The  age  in  which  all  sexual  difference 
will  have  ceased  to  exist  and  birth  will  take  place  in  the  Anupddaka 
mode,  as  in  the  second  and  third  Root-races.  Esoteric  philosophy 
teaches  that  it  will  take  place  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  and  during  the 
seventh  and  la.st  Root-race  in  this  Round. 

Ratri  (Sk.).  Night;  the  body  Brahma  assumed  for  purposes  of 
creating  the  Rakshasas  or  alleged  giant-demons. 

Raumasa  (Sk.).    A  class  of  devas  (gods)  said  to  liavc  originated  from 


GLOSSARY  257 

the  pores  of  Verabhadra's  skin.     An  allusion  to  the  pre-Ad<imic  race 
called  the  "sweat-born".     (Secret  Doctrine,  Vol.  II.) 

Ravail.  The  true  name  of  the  founder  of  modern  Spiritism  in  France, 
who  is  better  known  under  the  pseudonym  of  Allan  Kardec. 

Ravana  (8h.).  The  King:-Demon  (the  Rakshasas),  the  Sovereign  of 
Lanka  (Ceylon),  who  carried  away  Sita,  Rama's  wife,  which  led  to  the 
great  Avar  described  in  the  Eamdi/ana. 

Ravi  (Sk.).    A  name  of  the  Sun. 

Rechaka  (SJc).  A  practice  in  Hatha  Yoga,  during  the  performance 
of  Pranfiyaraa  or  the  regulation  of  breath:  namely,  that  of  opening  one 
nostril  and  emitting  breath  therefrom,  and  keeping  the  other  closed  : 
one  of  the  three  operations  respectively  called  Puraka,  Kumbliaka  and 
Rechaka — operations  very  pernicious  to  health. 

Red  Colour.  This  has  always  been  associated  with  male  characteris- 
tics especially  by  the  Etruscans  and  Hindoos.  In  Hebrew  it  is  Adam, 
the  same  as  "the  word  for  "earth"  and  "the  first  man".  It  seems  that 
nearly  all  myths  represent  the  first  perfect  man  as  white.  The  same 
word  without,  the  initial  A  is  Dam  or  Dem,  which  means  Blood,  also  of 
red  colour,    [w.w.w.] 

The  colour  of  the  fourth  Principle  in  man— /iV/;/i«,  the  seat  of  desires 
is  represented  red. 

Reincarnation.  The  doctrine  of  rebirth,  belived  in  by  Jesus  and  the 
Ai)ostles,  as  by  all  men  in  those  days,  but  denied  now  by  the  Christians. 
All  the  Egyptian  converts  to  Christianity,  Church  Fathers  and  others, 
believed  in  this  doctrine,  as  shown  by  the  writings  of  several.  In  the 
still  existing  symbols,  the  human-headed  bird  flying  towards  a  mummy, 
a  body,  or  "the  soul  uniting  itself  with  its  sahou  (glorified  body  of  the 
Ego,  and  also  the  kdnialokic  shell)  proves  this  belief.  "The  song  of  the 
Resurrection"  chanted  ])y  Isis  to  recall  her  dead  husband  to  life,  might 
1)6  translated  "Song  of  Rebirth",  as  Osiris  is  collective  Humanity.  "Oh! 
Osiris  [here  follows  the  name  of  the  Osirified  mummy,  or  the  departed] . 
ri.se  again  in  holy  earth  (matter),  august  mummy  in  the  coffin,  under 
thy  corporeal  substances",  was  the  funeral  prayer  of  the  priest  over  the 
deceased.  "Resurrection"  with  the  Egyptians  never  meant  the  resur- 
rection of  the  mutilated  mummy,  but  of  the  Soul  that  informed  it.  the 
Ego  in  a  new  body.  The  i)utting  on  of  flesh  ])eriodically  oy  the  Soul  or 
the  Ego,  was  a  universal  belief;  nor  can  anything  be  more  consonant 
with  justice  and  Karmic  law.     (See  "Pre-existence".) 

Rekh-get-Amen  (Eg.).  The  name  of  the  priests,  hierophants,  and 
t.jichcrs  of  Magic  who,  according  to  Lenormant,  ]\Iaspero,  the  Cham- 
pollions,  etc.,  etc.,  "could  levitate,  walk  the  air,  live  under  water,  sus- 
tain great  pressure,  harmlessly  suffer  mutilation,  read  the  past,  foretell 
the  future,  make  themselves  invisible,  and  cure  diseases"  (Bonwick. 
Religion  of  Magic).  And  the  same  author  adds:  "Admission  to  the 
mysteries  did  not  confer  magical  j)owers.     The.se  depended  upon  two 


258  TIIKUSUI'JIICAL 

tliiiij,'s:  the  i)i)SS('ssion  of  innat«'  capacities,  and  tlic  kiiowcdf^t-  of  certain 
foninjia'  employed  under  suitable  circuinstarjces".  dust  the  same  as  it 
is   ii(»\v. 

Rephaim  <II>h.).     Spectres,  phantoms.  (Sfcnt  Duitritu,   11..  'J79. » 

Resha-havurah  (Ilrh.,  Kab.).  Lit.,  tlie  "AVliite  Head  ".  fmm  which 
flows  the  liery  (luid  of  life  and  intellijrence  in  three  Inindred  and  sev«'nty 
streams,  in  all  the  tlireetions  of  the  Universe.  The  "White  Head"  is  th-- 
first  Sei)hira.  the  Crown,  or  first  active  liprht. 

Reuchlin,  John.  Nicknamed  the  "Father  of  the  Keformation" ;  th.- 
frit>nd  of  Pico  di  .Mirandola.  the  teacher  and  instructor  of  Erasmus,  of 
T.uthi  r  and  ^lelancthon.     He  was  a  jrreat  Kahbalist  and  Occultist. 

Rig  Veda  (Sk.).  The  first  and  most  imi)ortant  of  the  four  Vcda.'<. 
Fabled  to  have  been  "created"  from  the  Eastern  mouth  of  Brahma: 
recorded  in  Occultism  as  having  been  delivered  by  great  sages  on 
Lake  Man(a)saravara  beyond  the  Himalayas,  dozens  of  thousands  of 
years  ago. 

Rik  (SI;.).    A  verse  of  Rig-Vida. 

Riksha  (Sk.).  Each  of  the  twenty -s»n'cn  const<dlations  forming  the 
y^odiac.     Any  fixed  star,  or  constellation  of  stars. 

Rimmon  (Hi  J).).  A  Pomegranate,  the  type  of  abundant  fertility;  oc- 
curs in  tlie  Old  Testament ;  it  figures  in  Syrian  temi)les  and  was  deified 
there,  as  an  emblem  of  the  celestial  prolific  mother  of  all :  also  a  type  of 
the  full  worn)),    [w.w.w.] 

Rings,  Magic.  These  existed  as  Talismans  in  every  folk-lore.  In 
Scandinavia  .such  i-ings  are  always  connected  with  the  elves  and  dwarfs 
who  were  alleged  to  be  the  jiossessors  of  talismans  and  who  gave  them 
occasionally  to  human  beings  whom  they  wished  to  protect.  In  the 
words  of  the  chronicler:  "These  magic  rings  brought  good  luck  to  the 
owner  so  long  as  they  were  carefully  preserved ;  but  their  loss  was 
attended  with  terrible  misfortunes  and  unspeakable  misery''. 

Rings  and  Rounds.  Terms  employed  by  Theosopliists  in  exjjlana- 
tion  (if  l->astei-n  ensiiiog()n,\-.  They  are  used  to  denote  the  various  evolu 
tionary  cycles  in  the  Elemental,  Mineral,  &c..  Kingdoms,  through 
which  the  Monad  passes  on  any  one  globe,  the  term  Round  being  used 
only  to  denote  the  cyclic  passage  of  the  Monad  round  the  complete  chain 
of  seven  globes.  Generally  speaking,  Theosophists  use  the  term  ring  as 
a  synonym  of  cycles,  whether  cosmic,  geological,  metaphysical  or  any 
othei-. 

Riphaeus  (Gr.).  In  mythology  a  mouniaiii  chain  upon  wliieli  slept 
the  frozen-hearted  god  of  snows  and  hurrican(\s.  In  Esoteric  philosophy 
a  real  i)rehistoric  continent  which  from  a  tropical  ever  suidit  land  has 
now  become  a  desolate  region  beyond  the  Arctic  Circle. 

Rishabha  (Sk.).  A  sage  supposed  to  have  been  the  fij-st  teacher  of 
the  .Iain  doctrines  in   India. 

Rishabham  (Sl;.i.     Thr  Zodiacal  sign  Taui-ns. 


GLOSSARY  259 

Rishi-Prajapati  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "revealors"',  holy  sages  in  the  reliprious 
history  of  Aryavarta.  Esoteric-ally  the  hifrhcst  of  them  are  the  Hier- 
archies of  "Builders"  and  Architects  of  the  Universe  and  of  living 
things  on  earth  ;  tliey  are  generally  called  Dyhan  Chohans,  Devas  and 
gods. 

Rishis  (Sk.).  Adepts;  the  inspired  ones.  In  Vedic  literature  the  term 
is  employed  to  denote  tliose  persons  through  whom  the  various  Mantras 
were  revealed. 

Ri-thlen.  Lit.,  "snake-keeping".  It  is  a  terrible  kind  of  sorcery 
jn-actised  at  ('lierrapoonjee  in  the  Khasi-IIills.  The  former  is  the  an- 
cient capital  of  the  latter.  As  the  legend  tells  us:  ages  ago  a  thloi 
(serpent-dragon)  which  inhabited  a  cavern  and  devoured  men  and 
cattle  was  put  to  death  by  a  local  St.  George,  and  cut  to  pieces,  every 
piece  being  scMit  out  to  a  different  district  to  be  burnt.  But  the  piece 
received  by  the  Kliasis  was  preserved  by  tliem  and  became  a  kind  of 
household  god,  and  their  descendants  developed  into  Ei-thkus  or  "snake- 
keepers",  for  the  piece  tiiey  preserved  grew  into  a  dragon  (thlcn)  and 
ever  since  has  obsessed  certain  Brahmin  families  of  that  district.  To 
acquire  the  good  grace  of  their  thlcn  and  save  their  own  lives,  these 
"keepers"  have  often  to  commit  murders  of  women  and  children,  from 
whose  bodies  they  cut  out  tiie  toe  and  finger  nails,  which  they  bring  to 
their  thJrn,  and  thus  indulge  in  a  number  of  black  magic  practices  con- 
nected with  sorcery  and  necromancy. 

Roger  Bacon.  A  very  famous  Franciscan  monk  who  lived  in  Eng- 
hmd  in  the  thirteenth  century.  He  was  an  Alchemist  who  firmly  be-, 
lieved  in  the  existence  of  the  Philosopher's  Stone,  and  was  a  great  mech- 
anician, chemist,  piiysicist  and  astrologer.  In  his  treatise  on  the  Ad- 
mirable Force  of  Art  and  Nature,  he  gives  hints  about  gunpowder  and 
l»redicts  the  use  of  steam  as  a  propelling  power,  describing  besides  the 
hydraulic  press,  the  diving-bell  and  the  kaleidoscope.  He  also  made  a 
famous  bra;^en  head  fitted  with  an  acoustic  apparatus  wliieh  irave  out 
oracles. 

Ro  and  Ru  ( K<j.).  The  gate  or  outlet,  the  spot  in  the  luavens  wiienee 
jiroceeded    (U"    was    born    jn-imeval    light;    synonymous    with    "cosmic 

WOIIll)"  ". 

Rohinila  {Sk.).  The  ancient  name  of  a  luona.stery  visited  by  Buddlia 
Sakyannmi.  now  called  Roynallah.  near  Balgada,  in  Eastern  Behar. 

Rohit  (Sk.).  A  female  deer,  a  hind;  the  form  assumed  by  Vach  (the 
femah'  Logos  and  female  aspect  of  Brahma,  who  createil  her  out  of  one 
half  of  his  body)  to  escape  the  amorous  pursuits  of  her  "father",  who 
transformed  himself  for  that  pnrpnse  into  a  buck  or  rid  deer  (the  colour 
of  Brahma  being  red). 

Rohitaka  Stupa  (Sk.).  The  "red  stupa  .  or  dagol)a.  l)uilt  by  King 
Asoka.  and  on  which  Maitribala-raja  fed  starving  Yak.shas  with  his 
blood.  The  Yakshas  are  inoffensive  demons  (Elemen(aries)  called 
pynya-janas  or  "good  people". 


260  TiiKosormcAL 

Rosicrucians  iiMys.).  The  iianu-  \v;is  first  jrivtii  to  the  discipU'S  of  a 
li-ariu'd  Adept  named  Christian  Roseiiknuz.  who  Ihmrislicd  in  Germany, 
eirea  1460.  lie  founded  an  Order  of  mystieal  stuih-nts  wliose  early 
history  is  to  he  found  in  the  German  work.  Fnnui  Fratt  ntilatis  i  1614). 
whieh  has  heen  puhlished  in  several  lanj,nia}xes.  The  mendiers  of  the 
Order  maintained  their  secrecy,  but  traces  of  them  have  oeen  found  in 
various  places  every  lialf  century  since  these  dates.  The  Societas 
Rosicrucians  in  Anglin  is  a  Masonic  Order,  whieh  has  adopted  member- 
ship in  the  "outer";  the  Chabratli  Zereli  Aur  Bokher.  or  Order  of  the 
G.  D.,  which  has  a  very  complete  .scheme  of  initiation  into  tiie  Kal)balali 
and  the  Higher  Map:ic  of  tlie  Western  or  llermetie  type,  and  admits  both 
.sexes,  is  a  direct  descendant  from  mediieval  sodalities  of  Kosicrncians. 
themselves  descended  from  the  Egyptian  Mysteries,     [w.w.w.] 

Rostan.  Book  of  the  Mysteries  of  Rostaii  ;  an  oecult  work  in  iii;inu- 
seript. 

Rowhanee  (Eg.),  or  Kr-Ruuham  ( .  Is  the  !Magic  of  modern  KgNjit. 
siip])(isrd  to  proceed  from  Angels  and  Spirits,  that  is  Genii,  and  by  the 
use  of  the  mystery  names  of  Allah ;  they  distingui.sh  two  form.s — llwee, 
that  is  the  Higher  or  White  Magic ;  and  Sufiee  and  Sheytanee,  the 
Lower  or  Black  Demoniac  Magic.  There  is  also  Es-Scemuja.  which  is 
deception  or  conjuring.  Opinions  differ  as  to  the  importance  of  a  branch 
of  Magic  called  Darb  el  Mendel,  or  as  Barker  calls  it  in  P^nglish.  the 
Mendal :  by  this  is  meant  a  form  of  artificial  clairvoyance,  exhibited  by 
a  young  boy  before  puberty,  or  a  virgin,  who,  as  the  result  of  self-fa.scina- 
tion  by  gazing  on  a  pool  of  ink  in  the  hand,  with  coincident  use  of  incense 
and  incantation,  sees  certain  scenes  of  real  life  passing  over  its  surface. 
Many  Eastern  travellers  have  narrated  instances  as  E.  W.  Lane  in  his 
Modern  Egyptians  and  his  Thousand  and  One  Nights,  and  E.  B.  Barker: 
the  incidents  have  been  introduced  also  into  many  works  of  fiction,  sucli 
as  Marryat's  Phantom  IShip,  and  a  similar  idea  is  interwoven  with  the 
story  of  Rose  Mary  and  the  Beryl  stone,  a  poem  by  Rossetti.  For  a 
superficial  attempt  at  explanation,  see  the  Quarterhj  Review,  Xo.  117. 
[w.w.w.] 

Ruach  (Hch.).  Air,  also  Spirit;  the  Spirit,  one  of  the  "human  prin- 
ciples'"   (Buddiia-]\lanas). 

Ruach  Elohim  (Hch.).  The  Spirit  of  the  gods;  corresponds  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  of  the  Christians.  Also  the  wind,  breath  and  rushing  water, 
[w.w.w.] 

Rudra  (Sk.).    A  title  of  Siva,  the  Destroyer. 

Rudras  (Sk.).  The  mighty  ones;  the  lords  of  the  three  upper  worlds. 
One  of  the  classes  of  the  "fallen"  or  incarnating  spirits;  they  are  all 
born  of  Brahma. 

Runes  (Scand.).  The  Runic  language  and  characters  are  the  mystery 
or  sacerdotal  tongue  and  alphabet  of  the  ancient  Scandinavians.  Runes 
are  derived  from  the  word  runa  (secret).  Therefore  both  language  and 
character  could   neither  be  understood  nor  interpreted   without  liaving 


GLOSSARY  261 

the  key  to  it.  Hence  wliile  the  written  nou  s  consisting  of  sixteen  letters 
are  known,  the  ancient  ones  composed  of  marks  and  signs  are  inde- 
cipherable. They  are  called  the  magic  characters.  "It  is  clear",  says 
E.  W.  Anson,  an  authority  on  the  folk-lore  of  the  Norsemen,  "that  the 
runes  were  from  various  causes  regarded  even  in  Germany  jjroper  as 
full  of  mystery  and  endowed  with  supernatural  power".  They  are 
said  to  have  been  invented  by  Odin. 

Rupa  (Sk.).  Body;  any  form,  applied  even  to  the  forms  of  the  gods, 
which  are  subjective  to  us. 

Ruta  (Sk.).  The  name  of  one  of  the  last  islands  of  Atlantis,  which 
perished  ages  before  Poscidonis,  the  "Atlantis"  of  Plato. 

Rutas  (Sk.).  An  ancient  people  that  inhabited  the  above  island  or 
continent  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 


262  THKOSol-HICAL 


S. 


•^» — The  niiu'teenth  k'tter;  numerically,  sixty.  In  Ilibn-w  it  is  tin- 
fifteenth  letter,  Samich,  iield  as  holy  Ih-eause  "the  sacred  name  of  god  is 
Samcch".  Its  symbol  is  a  prop,  or  a  pillar,  and  a  phallic  egg.  In  occult 
geometry  it  is  represented  as  a  circle  quadrated  by  a  cross.  0  In  the 
Knhhaldh  the  "divisions  of  Gan-Edcn  or  paradise"  are  similarly 
divided. 

Sa  or  Hea  (Chald.).  The  synthesis  of  the  seven  Gods  in  Babylonian 
mythology. 

Sabalaswas  (Sk.).    Sons  of  Daksha   (Secret  Doctrim,  II..  275). 
Sabao  (ilr.).     The  Gnostic  name  of  the  genius  of  Mars. 
Sabaoth  (Ileh.).     An  army  or  host  from  Saba — to  go  to  war;  hence 
the  name  of  the  fighting  god — the  "Lord  of  Sabaoth". 

Sabda   (Sk.).     The  Word,  or  Logos. 

Sabda  Brahmam  (Sk.).  "The  Unmanifested  Logos."  The  Vcdas; 
"PUlu-real   Vibrations  diffused  throughout  Space". 

Sabha  (Sk.).  An  assembly  ;  a  place  for  meetings,  social  or  ])olitical. 
Also  Mahiisahha,  "the  bundle  of  wonderful  (mayavic  or  illusionary) 
things"  tlie  gift  of  Mayasur  to  the  Paudavas  (Mahdhhdrata.) 

Sabianism.  The  religion  of  the  ancient  Chaldees.  The  latter  believ- 
ing in  one  impersonal,  universal,  deific  Principle,  never  mentioned  It, 
but  offered  worship  to  the  solar,  lunar,  and  planetary  gods  and  rulers, 
regarding  the  stars  and  other  celestial  bodies  as  their  respective  .symbols. 

Sabians.  Astrolaters,  so  called ;  those  who  worshipped  the  stars,  or 
rather   tlieir    "regents".      (See    "Sabianism".) 

Sacha  Kiriya  (Sk.).  A  power  with  tlie  Buddhists  akin  to  a  magic 
mantram  with  the  Brahmans.  It  is  a  miraculous  energy  which  can  be 
exercised  by  any  adept,  whether  priest  or  layman,  and  "most  efficient 
when  accompanied  by  hhCiwand"  (meditation).  It  consists  in  a  recita- 
tion of  one's  "acts  of  merit  done  either  in  this  or  some  former  birth" — 
as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hardy  thinks  and  puts  it,  but  in  reality  it  depends  on 
the  intensity  of  one's  will,  added  to  an  absolute  faith  in  one's  own 
pow^s,  whether  of  yoga — willing — or  of  prayer,  as  in  the  case  of  i\Ius- 
sulmans  and  Christians.  Sacha  means  "true",  and  Kiriifang,  "action". 
Tt  is  the  power  of  merit,  or  of  a  .saintly  life. 

Sacrarium  (Lat.).  The  name  of  the  room  in  the  houses  of  the  ancient 
Romans,  which  contained  the  particular  deity  worshipped  by  the  family  : 
also  the  adytum  of  a  temple. 


GLOSSARY  263 

Sacred  Heart.  Jn  P^jrypt,  of  Ilonis;  in  Babylon,  of  tlie  jirod  IM  ;  and 
the  lacerated  lunirt  of  Bacchu.s  in  Grcn-ee  and  clsewlierc.  Its  symbol 
was  the  persra.  The  pear-like  shape  of  its  fruit,  and  of  its  kernel  espe- 
cially, resembles  the  heart  in  form.  It  is  sometimes  seen  on  the  head 
of  Isis,  the  mother  of  Ilorus,  the  fruit  being  cut  open  and  the  heart-like 
kernel  exposed  to  full  view.  The  Roman  Catholics  liave  since  adopted 
the  worship  of  tlic  "sacred  heart"  of  Jesus  and  of  the  Virgin  Mary. 

Sacred  Science.  The  name  given  to  the  inner  esoteric  philosophy,  the 
secrets  taught  in  days  of  old  to  the  initiated  candidates,  and  divulged 
during  tlie  last  and  supreme  Initiation  by  the  Hierophants. 

Sadaikariipa  (".S'A.J.     The  essence  of  the  immutable  nature. 

Sadducees.  A  sect,  the  followers  of  one  Zadok.  a  disciple  of  Anti- 
goiuis  Saccho.  They  are  accused  of  having  denied  the  immortality  of 
the  (personal)  soul  and  that  of  the  resurrection  of  the  (physical  and 
personal)  body.  Even  .so  do  the  Theosophists ;  though  tln-y  deny  neither 
the  immortality  of  the  Ego  nor  the  resurrection  of  all  its  numerous  and 
successive  lives,  which  survive  in  the  vumori/  of  the  Ego.  But  together 
with  the  Sadducee.s — a  sect  of  learned  philosophers  who  were  to  all  the 
other  Jews  that  which  the  polished  and  learned  Gnostics  were  to  the 
rest  of  the  Greeks  during  the  early  centuries  of  our  era — we  certainly 
deny  the  immortality  of  the  animal  soul  and  the  resurrection  of  the 
physical  body.  The  Sadducees  Avere  the  .scientists  and  the  learned  men 
of  Jerusalem,  and  held  the  liigliest  offices,  such  as  of  high  priests  and 
judges,  while  the  Pharisees  were  almost  from  first  to  last  the  Pecksniffs 
of  Judfea. 

Sadhyas  (Sk.).  One  of  the  names  of  the  "twelve  great  gods"  created 
by  Brahma.  Kosmic  gods;  lit.,  "divine  saorificers".  The  Sadhyas  arc 
iinjiortant  in  Occultism. 

Sadik.  The  same  as  the  Biblical  ^lelchizedec.  identified  by  tlif  mystic 
Bible-worshippers  with  Jehovah,  and  Jesus  Christ.  But  Father  Sadik 's 
identity  with  Noah  being  proven,  he  can  be  further  identified  with 
Kronos-Saturn. 

Safekh  (Eg.).  Written  also  Schek  and  Schakh,  god  of  darkness  and 
night,  with  the  crocodile  for  his  emblem.  In  the  Ty phonic  legend  and 
transformation  he  is  the  same  as  Typhon.  He  is  connected  with  both 
Osiris  and  Horus,  and  is  their  great  enemy  on  earth.  We  find  him  often 
called  the  "triple  crocodile".  In  astronomy  he  is  the  same  as  Makara 
or  Capricorn,  the  most  mystical  of  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac. 

Saga  (Scand.).  The  goddess  "avIio  sings  of  the  deeds  of  gods  and 
heroes'",  and  to  whom  the  black  ravens  of  Odin  reveal  the  history  of  the 
Past  and  of  the  Future  in  the  Norsemen's  Edda. 

Sagara  ^s'^-.;.  Lit.,  "the  Ocean";  a  king,  the  father  of  60.000  .sons, 
who.  for  disrespect  shown  to  the  sage  Kajula,  were  reduct^d  to  aslies  by 
a  single  glance  of  his  eye. 

Sagardagan.    One  of  thr  four  paths  to  Nirvana. 


264  THEOSOPHICAL 

Saha  (Sk.).  "'IMn-  world  of  sutTi-rin;.'"  ;  any  irihabitiMl  wurld  in  tin* 
I'liilio-cosmos. 

Sahampati  (Sk.).    Malia  or  PHnibraliin. 

Saharaksha  (Sk.).  'V\w  tin-  of  the  Asuras;  the  naiin-  of  a  son  of 
ravariuiiia.  oiu'  of  thr  tlirci'  cliit'f  occult  fires. 

Saint  Martin,  I.oiii.s  (laudr  dr.  Born  in  France  (Anilmis*-).  in  174:^ 
A  prcat  mystic  and  wTitcr.  who  p\irsucd  his  philosophical  and  tljcosophi- 
cal  studies  at  Paris.  durin<r  the  Rfvolution.  IIo  wa.s  an  ardent  disoiplf 
of  .lacoh  liorlune.  and  studied  under  Martinez  Paschalis.  finally  founding 
a  mystical  semi-Masonic  Lodtre.  "the  Rectified  Rite  of  St.  Martin",  witli 
.seven  de«rrees.  He  was  a  true  Theosophist.  At  the  present  moment 
.some  ambitious  charlatans  in  Paris  are  caricatui'injr  him  and  pa.ssinjj 
themselves  off  as  initiated  Martinists,  and  thus  dishonouring  the  name  of 
the  late  Adept. 

Sais  (E<j.).  Tile  place  where  the  celebrated  temple  of  Isis-Neith 
was  found,  wherein  was  the  ever-veiled  statue  of  Xeith  (Xeith  and  Isis 
h«Mnp  interchanfreahle).  with  the  famous  inscri[)tion,  "I  am  all  that  lias 
been,  and  is,  and  sjudl  be.  and  ni\-  peplnm  no  .mortal  lias  withdrawn". 
rSee  "Sirius".) 

Saka  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  ihw".  or  tlie  Khti.-  used  of  the  "Drairon  of 
Wisdom"  or  the  manifestinpr  deities,  taken  collectively. 

Saka  (Sk.i.  .Vccordinpr  to  the  Orientalists  the  same  as  the  classical 
Sucir .  It  is  during  tlie  reign  of  their  King  Vudishtira  that  Um-  Knli  Yinin 
began. 

Saka  Dwipa  ('Sk.).  One  of  the  seven  islands  or  continents  mmtionrd 
in  til'-  l'iir''i>itis  fancient  works). 

Sakkayaditthi.  Delusion  of  personality;  the  erroneous  idea  that  "/ 
am  1".  a  man  or  a  woman  with  a  special  name,  instead  of  being  an 
in.separable  part  of  the  whole, 

Sakradagamin  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "he  who  will  receive  birth  (only^i  once 
more"  h.fore  .\ii-vana  is  reached  by  him;  he  who  has  entered  the  second 
of  the  four  paths  which  lead  to  Nirvana  and  has  almost  reached  per- 
fection. 

Sakshi  (Sk.).  The  name  of  the  hare,  who  in  the  legend  of  the  "moon 
and  the  hare"  threw  himself  into  tiie  \\w  to  save  some  starving  jnlgrims 
who  would  not  kill  him.  For  this  sacrifice  Indra  is  said  to  have  trans- 
ferred him  to  the  centre  of  the  moon. 

Sakti  (Sk.).  The  active  female  energy  of  the  gods;  in  popular  Hin- 
duism, their  wives  and  goddesses;  in  Occultism,  the  crown  of  the  a.stral 
light.    Force  and  the  six  forces  of  nature  .synthesized.   Universal  P^nergy. 

Sakti-Dhara  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  "Spear-holder",  a  title  given  to  Karti- 
keya  for  killing  Taraka,  a  Daitya  or  giant-demon.  The  latter,  demon 
though  he  was,  .seems  to  have  been  such  a  great  Yogin,  owing  to  his 
religious  austerities  and  holiness,  that  he  made  all  the  gods  tremble 
before  him.    This  makes  of  Kartikeya,  the  w.ir  god,  a  kind  of  St.  Michael. 


GLOSSARY  265 

Sakwala.  Tliis  is  a  hdna  or  "word"  utt«Te(l  by  Gautaiiia  Buddlia 
in  his  oral  instructions.  Sakwala  is  a  niundano,  or  rather  a  sohir  system, 
of  which  there  is  an  indefinite  number  in  the  universe,  and  which  denotes 
that  space  to  which  the  lifjht  of  every  sun  extends.  Each- Sakwala  con- 
tains earths,  hells  and  heavens  fmeaninpr  ffood  and  bad  splieres,  our 
earth  beinp  considered  as  ht-ll,  in  Occultism)  ;  attains  its  prime,  then 
falls  into  decay  and  is  finally  destroyed  at  reprularly  recurrin<r  periods, 
in  virtue  of  one  immutable  law.  Upon  the  earth,  the  Master  tau<;ht 
that  there  have  been  already  four  prn-at  "continents"  (the  Tjand  of  the 
Gods,  Lemuria,  Atlantis,  ajid  the  i>resent  "continent"  divided  into  fivf 
parts  of  the  Secret  Doctrine ),  and  that  three  more  have  to  appear.  The 
former  "did  not  ceymmunicate  with  each  other",  a  sentence  showinf^  that 
Buddha  was  not  speakings  of  the  actual  continents  known  in  his  day  (for 
Patnla  or  America  was  perfectly  familiar  to  the  ancient  Hindus),  but 
of  the  four  peolopical  formations  of  th(^  earth,  with  their  four  distinct 
roo/-races  which  had  ali'eady  disai)p<'ared. 

Sakya  (Sk.).     A   patronymic  of  Gautama  Ruddiia. 

Sakyamuni  Buddha  (Sk.).  A  name  of  the  founder  of  Buddhism,  the 
frrrat  Sap'.  the  Lord  Gautama. 

Salamanders.  The  Rosierueian  name  for  the  Elementals  of  Fire.  The 
animal,  as  well  as  its  name,  is  of  most  occult  sifrnilieance.  and  is  widely 
used  in  poetry.  The  name  is  almost  identical  in  all  lan^ruages.  Thus, 
in  Greek,  Latin,  French,  Spanish,  Italian,  etc.,  it  is  Salamandra,  in 
Persian  Sfinmndd,  and  in  Sanskrit  Salamandala. 

Salmali  (Sk.).   One  of  the  seven  zones;  also  a  kind  of  tree. 

Sama  (Sk.).  One  of  the  hhdva  push  pas,  or  "flowers  of  sanctity". 
Sama  is  the  fifth,  or  "resignation".  There  are  eight  such  flowers, 
namely:  clemency  or  charity,  self-restraint,  affection  (or  love  for  others), 
patience,  resignation,  devotion,  meditation  and  veracity.  Sama  is  also 
the  repression  of  any  mental  perturbation. 

Sama  Veda  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "tlie  Serij)ture,  or  Slidsfra.  of  jtcacr".  One 
of  thi'   four  Vedas. 

Samadhana  (Sk.).  That  state  in  which  a  Yogi  can  no  longer  diverge 
from  the  j)ath  of  spiritual  progres.s;  when  everything  terrestrial,  except 
the  visible  body,  has  ceased  to  exist  for  liim. 

Samadhi  (Sk.).  A  state  of  ecstatic  and  complete  trance  The  term 
comes  from  the  words  Sam-ddha,  "self-pos.scssion".  He  who  pos.ses.scs 
this  power  is  able  to  exercise  an  al)solute  control  over  all  his  faculties, 
physical  or  nn-ntal;  it  is  the  highest  state  of  Yoga. 

Samadhindriya  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  root  of  concentration";  the  fourth 
of  the  five  roots  called  Paneha  Tndriyani,  which  are  .said  in  esoteric 
philosophy  to  be  the  agents  in  producing  a  highly  moral  life,  lending 
to  sanctity  and  liberation;  when  these  are  reached,  the  two  spiritual  roots 
lying  latent  in  the  body  (Atnia  and  Buddhi)  will  .send  out  shoots  and 
blossom.  Sanu'i<thin(Jri]ia  is  the  organ  of  ecstatic  meditation  in  Raj-yoga 
practices. 


266  TllKnSoI'llliAI- 

Saraael  (lltb.).  Tht-  Ka})hali.stir  till.-  of  tii.-  PriiMM-  uf  those  evil 
spirits  who  rcprcsj'nt  iiifuniations  of  hiiniaii  vici's;  tlic  i\i\\iA  uf  Diath. 
I'roin  this  tlie  idt-u  of  Satan  lias  b«'»'ii  cvolvftl.     [w.w.w.] 

Samajna  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "an  cnligrhtcnod  (or  luminous)  Sape".  Tians 
lati'(i  v«'rl)ally.  Snmgharana  Samnjiui,  the  famous  Vihjun  iifar  Kiistana 
M'hiiia\  iiu'ans  "the  Tuonastrry  of  thr  luininoiis  Safrc". 

Samana  (Sk.).  One  of  tht-  fivi'  breaths  (I'r(hi(i.<t)  whicli  carry  on  the 
eli.?nical  aetioii  in  thi'  animal  body. 

Samanera.    A  novice;  a  postulant  fcti-  tlie  Buddhist  jiriesthood. 

Samanta  Bhadra  (Sk.).  lAt..  "I'niversal  Safre".  The  name  of  one 
of  the  four  Jinilhisdttrd.^  of  the  Yopaeharya  Sehool,  of  the  Mahayana 
(the  Great  Vehicle)  of  Wisdom  of  that  system.  There  are  four  ter- 
restrial and  three  celestial  Bodhisattvas:  the  first  four  only  act  in  the 
present  races,  but  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  Root-race  appeared  the  fifth 
Boilhisattva.  who.  according  to  an  esoteric  legrend,  was  Gautama  Buddha, 
but  who.  havintr  appeared  too  early,  had  to  disappear  bodily  from  the 
world   fur  .1  wiiile. 

Samanta  Prabhasa  (Sk.).  Lit..  '•  universal  bri;;htness"  or  dazzlinp 
li}?ht.  The  name  under  which  each  of  the  500  perfected  Arhats  re- 
appears on  earth  as  Buddha. 

Samanya  (Sk.).  C'omnumity.  or  commiMfrlinjr  of  qualities,  an  ab.stract 
notion  of  penus.  such  as  humanity. 

Samapatti  (Sk.).  Absolute  concentration  in  Kaja-Yofja ;  the  process 
of  devilopuient  by  which  perfect  indifference  (Snm.s)  is  reached 
\apatti).  This  state  is  the  last  stage  of  develoi)ineiit  before  the  possi- 
bility of  enterin<r  into  Samadlii  is  reached. 

Samaya  (Sk.i.    .\  relifrious  precept. 

S'ambhala  (Sk.).  A  very  mysterious  locality  on  aeeount  of  its  future 
as.soeiatioii.s.  A  town  or  villapre  mentioned  in  the  Purnnas,  whence,  it  is 
proi)hesied.  the  Kalki  Avatar  will  appear.  The  "Kalki"  in  Vishnu,  the 
.1// .s.s-jV//i  (HI  the  Whit)  Horse  of  the  Brahmins;  Maitreya  Buddha  of  the 
Buddhists,  Sosiosh  of  the  Parsis,  and  Jesus  of  the  Christians  (See 
Rev(lations).  All  these  "messengers"  are  to  appear  "l>efore  the 
destruction  of  the  world",  .says  the  one;  before  the  end  of  Kali  Yuga  say 
the  others.  It  is  in  S'ambhala  that  the  future  Messiah  will  be  borii. 
Some  Orientalists  make  modern  Muradabad  in  Kohilkhand  (N.W.P.) 
identical  with  S'ambhala.  while  Occulti.sm  places  it  in  The  Himalayas. 
It  is  pronounced  Shamhhalu. 

Sambhogakaya  (Sk.).  One  of  the  three  "Vestures"  of  glory,  or 
bodies,  obtained  by  a.scetics  on  the  "Path".  Some  sects  hold  it  as  the 
second,  while  others  as  the  third  of  the  Buddhakshetras.  or  forms  of 
Buddha.  Lit.,  the  "Body  of  Compensaticm"  (See  Voice  of  the  Silence, 
Glo.ss<'iry  iiii.  (.)f  such  Buddhakshetrus  there  are  .seven,  those  of 
Nirmanakaya,  Sand^hogakaya  and  Dharmakaya.  belonging  to  the 
Trikdya,  or  three-fold  quality. 


GLOSSARY  267 

Samgha  (Sk  )  Tin-  corporate  assembly.* or  a  quorum  of  priests;  called 
also  Bliikshu  Samgha:  the  word  "chureh"  used  in  translatiou  does  not 
at  all  express  the  real  meaning. 

Samkhara  fPali).  One  of  the  five  Skandhas  or  attributes  in  Buddhism. 
Samkhara  (raU).   "Tendencies  of  mind"  (See  "Skandhas"). 
Sarama   Sambuddha    (I'ali).    Tlie   recollection   of   all    of   one's   past 
incarnations;  a  yoga  phenomenon. 

Samma  Sambuddha  (Pali).  A  title  of  the  Lord  Buddiia,  the  "Lord 
of  mr.kness  and  r.signation"  ;  it  means  "perfect  illumination    . 

Samothrace  (Or.).  An  island  famous  for  its  ^^lysteries,  perhaps  the 
oldest  ever  established  in  our  present  race.  The  Samothracian  My.stenes 
were  renowned  all  over  the  world. 

Samothraces  (Or.).  A  designation  of  the  Five  gods  worshipped  at  the 
island  of  tliat  name  during  the  .Mysteries.  They  are  con.sidered  as  iden- 
tical with  the  Cabeiri.  Dioscuri  and  Corybantes.  Their  names  were 
mystical,  denoting  Pluto.  Ceres  or  Proserpine.  Bacchus  and  ^sculapnis, 
or  Hermes. 

Sampajnana  (Sk.).  A  power  of  internal  illumination. 
Samskara  (Sk.).  Lit.,  from  Sam  and  Krl  to  improve,  refine  impress. 
In  Hindu  pliilosophv  the  term  is  used  to  denote  the  impres.sions  left  upon 
the  mind  bv  individual  actions  or  external  circumstances,  and  capable  of 
being  developed  on  anv  future  favourable  occasion— .'ven  in  a  future 
birth.  The  Samskara  denotes,  therefore,  the  germs  of  propensities  and 
impulses  from  previous  births  to  be  developed  in  this,  or  the  coming 
janmas  or  reincarnations.  In  Tibet,  Samskara  is  called  Doodyed  and  in 
China  is  defined  as,  or  at  least  connected  with,  action  or  Karma.  It  is. 
strietlv  speaking,  a  metaphvsical  term,  which  in  exoteric  philosophies  is 
variouslv  d<'fined  ;  e.g..  in  Nepaul  as  illusion,  in  Tibet  as  notion,  and  in 
Ceylon  as  discrimination.  The  true  meaning  is  as  given  above,  and  as 
such  is  connected  with  Karma  and  its  working. 

Samtan  (Tih.).   The  same  as  Dhyana  or  meditation. 
Samvara  (Sk.).   A  deity  worshipped  by  the  Tantrikas. 
Samvarta  (Sk.).    A  minor  Kalpa.     A  period  in  creation  after  which 
a  partial  annihilation  of  the  world  occurs. 

Samvartta  Kalpa  (Sk.).  The  Kalpa  or  period  of  destruction,  the 
same  as  I'rahnja.  Every  root-race  and  sub-race  is  .sub.iect  to  such 
Kalpas  of  destruction;  the  fifth  root-race  having  sixty-four  .such  cata- 
clysms periodically;  namely:  fifty-six  by  fire,  seven  by  water,  and  one 
small  Kalpa  by  winds  or  cyclones. 

Samvat  (Sk.).  Tlic  name  of  an  Indian  chronological  era.  supposed  to 
have  coninienced  tifty-seven  years  B.C. 

Samvriti  (Sk.).     False  conception— the  origin  of  illusion. 


268  TlIEUSOl'lUi  AL 

Samvritisatya  iSk.).  Ti-iith  mixed  witli  false  t'()nct'])tion.s  (Sam\Titi)  ; 
the  r.'vci-sr  of  ahsoluto  ti'iith — -or  Parcinu'irthasatya,  self-i-onsoiousiu'ss  in 
absolute  truth  or  reality. 

Samyagajiva  (Sk.).  Mcndicant'y  for  ri'lipious  purposes:  the  correet 
jfrofcssion.  It  is  the  fourth  Marfia  (path),  the  vow  of  poverty,  obliga- 
t<)i\    on  rvt  ry   Arliat  and  monk. 

Sarayagdrishti  (S!k.).  The  ability  to  discuss  truth.  Tiic  first  of  th.' 
•  iprht  Marpis  (jiatlis)  of  the  ascetic. 

Samyakkarmanta  (Sk.).  The  last  of  thr  .  ij,dit  Martras.  Strict  purity 
and  <»t»srrvaii('t'  of  honesty,  disinterestedness  and  unselfishness,  the  ehar- 
aett  ristie  of  cvei-y  Arhat. 

Samyaksamadhi  (Sk.J.  Absolute  nuntal  coma.  Ttic  sixth  of  the  eight 
.MaTfras ;  the  full  attainment  of  Samadhi. 

Samyaksambuddha  (Sk.).  or  So)nynasa»ihud<llia,  as  |)ronounced  in 
Ceylon.  /.//..  tin-  IJuddha  of  correct  and  harmonious  knowledge,  and 
the  tliiivl  of  the  ten  titles  of  Sakyamuni. 

Samyattaka  Nikaya  (Pali).  A  Buddhist  work  composed  mostly  of 
dialojrues  between  Buddha  and  his  disciples. 

Sana  (SkJ.  One  of  the  three  esoteric  Kumaras,  whose  names  are 
Sana.  Kapila  and  Sanatsujata,  the  mysterious  triad  which  contains  the 
mystery  of  generation  and  reincarnation. 

Sana  or  Sanaischara  (Sk.).  The  .same  as  Sani  or  Saturn  the  planet. 
In  the  Hindu  Pantheon  he  is  the  son  of  Surya.  the  Sun,  and  of  Sanjua. 
Spiritual  Con.sciousness.  who  is  the  daughter  of  Visva-Karman.  or  rather 
of  r/hhaya.  the  shadow  left  behind  by  Sanjna.  Sanaischara.  the  ".slow- 
movinc". 

Sanaka  (Sk.).  A  sacred  plant,  the  fibres  of  which  are  Avoven  into 
yellow  robes  for  Buddhist  priests. 

Sanat  Kumara  (Sk.)  The  most  prominent  of  the  seven  Kumaras. 
the  Vaidliatra.  the  first  of  which  are  called  Sanaka,  Sananda,  Sanatana, 
and  Sanat  Kumara ;  which  names  are  all  significant  qualifications  of  the 
degrees  of  human  intellect. 

Sanat  Sujatiya  (Sk.).  A  work  treatiii<r  of  Krishna's  teachings,  .such 
as  in  Tiliafiarad  Git  a  and  Avugita. 

Sancha-Dwipa  (Sk.).    One  of  the  seven  great  islands  Sapta-Dimpa. 

Sanchoniathon  (Gr.).  A  pre-christian  writer  on  Phoenician  Cos- 
mogony, whose  works  are  no  longer  extant.  Philo  Byblus  gives  only  the 
so-called  fragments  of  Sanchoniathon. 

Sandalphon  (Hcb.).  The  Kabbalistic  Prince  of  Angels,  emblemati- 
eall.\  represented  by  one  of  the  Chcruiim  of  the  Ark. 

Sandhya  (Sk.).  A  period  between  two  Yugas,  morning-evening: 
anything  coming  between  and  joining  two  others.  Lit.,  "twilight";  tho 
period  between  a  full  Manvantara,  or  a  "Da\'',  and  a  full  Pralava  or  a 
"Niffht"  of  "Brahma". 


GLOSSARV  269 

Sandhyamsa   fSk.).     A  period  foUowinfr  a  Yuga. 

Sanghai  Dag-po  (Tib.).  The  "concealed  Lord";  a  title  of  those  who 
have  merged  into,  and  identified  themselves  with,  the  Absolute.  Used  of 
the  "Xirvuncf's''  and  the  " Jivanmuktas". 

Sangye  Khado  (Sk.J.  The  Queen  of  the  Khado  or  female  genii:  tlu' 
Ddkini  of  tlie  Hindus  and  the  Lilith  of  the  Hebrews. 

Sanjna  (Sk.J.    Spiritual  Consciousness.    The  wife  of  Surya,  the  Sun. 

Sankara  (Sk.).  The  name  of  Siva.  Also  a  great  Vedantic  philos- 
oplver. 

Sankhya  (Sk.).  Tiie  system  of  philosophy  founded  by  Kapila  Rishi. 
a  system  of  analytical  metaphysics,  and  one  of  the  six  Darshanas  or 
.schools  of  philosophy.  It  discourses  on  numerical  categories  and  the 
meaning  of  the  twenty-five  tatwas  (the  forces  of  nature  in  various  de- 
grees). This  "atomistic  school'',  as  some  call  it,  explains  nature  by  the 
inter-action  of  twenty-four  elements  with  puru.<iha  (spirit)  modified  by 
the  three  gnnas  (qualities),  teaching  the  eternity  of  pradhdna  (primor- 
dial, homogeneous  matter),  or  the  self-transformation  of  nature  and  the 
eternity  of  the  human  Egos. 

Sankhya  Karika  (Sk.).    A  work  by  Kapila,  containing  his  aphorisms. 

Sankhya  Yoga  (Sk.).  The  system  of  Yoga  as  set  forth  by  the  above 
school. 

Sanna  (Pali.).  One  of  the  five  Skandhas,  namely  the  attribute  of 
abstract  ideas. 

Sannyasi  ^.S'A-.^.  A  Hindu  ascetic  who  has  reached  the  highest  mystic 
knowledge ;  whose  mind  is  fixed  only  upon  the  supreme  truth,  and  who 
has  entirely  renounced  everything  terrestrial  and  worldly. 

Sansara  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "rotation";  the  ocean  of  births  and  deaths. 
Human  rebirths  represented  as  a  continuous  circle,  a  wheel  ever  in 
motion. 

Sanskrit  (Sk.).  The  classical  language  of  the  Brahmaus,  never 
known  nor  spoken  in  its  true  systematized  form  (given  later  approxi- 
mately by  Panini),  except  by  the  initiated  Brahmaus,  as  it  was  pre- 
eminently "a  mystery  language".  It  has  now  degenerated  into  the 
so-called  Prakrita. 

Santa  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "placidity "".  The  primeval  (juality  of  the  latent, 
undifferentiated  state  of  elementary  matter. 

Santatih  (Sk.).    The  "offspring." 

Saphar  (Heb.).  Sepharim;  one  of  those  called  in  the  Kabbalah  — 
Sepher,  Saphar  and  Sipur,  or  "Number,  Numbers  and  Numbered",  by 
whose  jtgency  the  world  was  formed. 

Sapta  (Sk.).     Seven. 

Sapta  Buddhaka  (Sk.).  An  account  in  Mahdnuldna  Sutra  of  Sapta 
Buddha,  the  seven  Buddhas  of  our  Round,  of  which  Gautama  Sakyamuni 
is  esoterically  the  fifth,  and  exoterically,  as  a  blind,  the  seventh. 


270  TIIKtixM'llKAl- 

Sapta  Sanuidra  (Sk.).  Tin*  "si-vi'ii  ocoaiis".  Tlicsf  have  an  occult 
"^iL'iiitiraiM'''  Hti   a   liifjlicr  plane, 

Sapta  Sindhava  (Sk.).  The  "seven  sacred  riv.rs  A  Wdie  term. 
In  Ztiid  works  they  are  eallcd  Ilapln  Ilumdo.  These  rivers  are  closely 
united  with  the  esoteric  t<'acliinjrs  of  the  Eastern  seliools.  havinp  a  very 
occult    sijrnitieariee. 

Sapta  Tathagata  (Sk.).  The  diief  seven  \irni('ni<ikiiti<t.'<  anion^  the 
iiumherK'ss  ancient  world-«;uardians.  Their  names  are  inscribed  on  a 
h)  ptdtjoiHil  pillar  kept  in  a  secret  chand)er  in  almost  all  Huddhist  temples 
in  China  and  Tihet.  The  Oi'ientalists  are  wron<r  in  thinkin<:  that  these 
are  "the  seven  Huddhist  substitutes  for  the  Rishis  of  the  lirahmans." 
rSee  "Tathafiata-rupta"). 

Saptadwipa   'Sk.}.  Tlie  seven  saei-ed  islands  or  "continents"'  in  the 

I' II  I'll  II  lis. 

Saptaloka  (Sk.).  The  seven  hiprher  rcfrions.  be«rinnintr  from  the  earth 
upwards. 

Saptaparna  iSk.).  The  "sevenfohl".  A  plant  which  }jrave  its  name 
to  a  famous  cave,  a  Vihdra,  in  RajAfrriha.  now  near  Buddhajraya,  where 
the  Lord  Huddha  used  to  meditate  and  teach  liis  Arhats,  and  where 
after  his  death  the  first  Synod  was  held.  This  cave  liad  seven  chambers, 
whence  the  name.  In  Esoterieism  Sapiapariui  is  the  .s^-mbol  of  the 
"sevenfold  Man-Plant". 

Saptarshi  (Sk.).  The  seven  Rishis.  As  stars  they  are  the  constella- 
tion of  the  Great  Bear,  and  called  as  such  the  Iiik>^ha  and  Chifrasik- 
ha)idina.>i,  brig^ht-crested. 

Sar  or  .sV/ro.9  (dmhl.).  A  Chaldean  fjod  from  whose  name,  represented 
by  a  circular  horizon  the  Greeks  borrowed  tiieir  word  Saros,  the  cycle. 

Sarama  (Sk.).  In  the  Veda^,  the  dog  of  Indra  and  mother  of  the  two 
do<:s  called  Sarameyas.  Sarama  is  the  "divine  watchman  "  of  the  god 
and  the  .same  as  he  who  watched  "over  the  prolden  flock  of  stars  and 
solar  rays'';  the  same  as  ]\Iereury.  tlie  |)lanet.  and  the  Greek  Hermes, 
called  Saramrifd^. 

Saraph  tlhh.).  A  flying  serpent. 

Sarasvati  (Sk.).  The  same  as  Vaeh,  wife  and  daughter  of  Brahma. 
produe.-d  from  on(^  of  the  two  halves  of  his  body.  She  is  the  goddess  of 
speech  and  of  sacred  or  esoteric  knowledge  and  wisdom.    Also  called  Sri. 

Sarcophagus  (Gr.).  A  stone  tomb,  a  receptacle  for  the  dead;  sarc= 
flesh,  and  phaip  in=io  eat.  Lapis  assiiis,  the  stone  of  which  the  sarco- 
phagi were  made,  is  found  in  Lycia,  and  has  the  property  of  consuming 
the  bodies  in  a  very  few  weeks.  In  Egypt  sarcophagi  were  made  of 
various  other  stones,  of  black  basalt,  red  granite,  alabaster  and  other 
materials,  as  they  served  only  as  outward  receptacles  for  the  wooden 
cofTins  containing  the  mummies.  The  epitaphs  on  some  of  them  are  as 
remarkable  as  they  are  highly  ethical,  and  no  Chri.stian  could  wish  for 
anything  better.     One  epitaph,  dating  thousands  of  years  before  the 


GLOSSAJtY  271 

year  one  of  our  modern  era.  reads: — "I  have  given  water  to  him  who 
was  thirsty  and  elotliing  to  him  who  was  naked.  1  have  done  harm  to 
no  man."  Another:  "I  have  done  actions  desired  by  men  and  those 
wliich  are  commanded  by  the  gods".  The  beauty  of  some  of  these  tombs 
may  be  judged  by  the  alaba.ster  sarcopliagus  of  Oimenephthah  I.,  at  Sir 
John  Soane's  Museum,  Lincoln's  Inn.  "It  was  cut  out  of  a  single  block 
of  fine  alabaster  stone,  and  is  9  ft.  4  in.  long,  by  22  to  24  in.  in  width, 
and  27  to  32  in.  in  height.  .  .  .  Engraved  dots,  etc.,  outside  were 
once  filled  with  blue  copper  to  rt-pn'sent  the  heavens.  To  attempt  a  de- 
scription of  the  wonderful  figures  inside  and  out  is  beyond  the  scope  of 
this  work.  Much  of  our  knowledge  of  the  mythology  of  the  people  i>; 
derived  from  this  precious  monument,  with  its  hundreds  of  figures  to 
illustrate  the  la.st  judgment,  and  the  life  beyond  the  grave.  Gods,  men. 
serpents,  symbolical  animals  and  plants  arc  tliere  most  beautifully 
carved.  ■     (Fumral  Rites  of  the  Egyptians.) 

Sargon  (Chohl.).  A  Babylonian  king.  The  story  is  now  found  to 
have  be.  M  the  original  of  ]\loses  and  the  ark  of  bulru.sh»s  in  th»-  XiU-. 

Sarira  (Sk.).  Envelope  or  body. 

Sarisripa  (Sk.).  Serpents,  crawling  insects,  reptiles,  "the  infinit*.- 
-<itnall\-   snudl". 

Sarku  (Chald.).  Lit.,  the  light  rae.- ;  that  of  the  gods  in  contradis- 
tinction to  the  (lark  i-ace  called  saJnuat  gagnadi.  or  the  race  that  fell.  i.(., 
mortal  men. 

Sarpas  (Sk.).  Serpents,  whose  king  was  Sesha,  the  .serpent,  or  rather 
an  as[)i'ct  of  Vishnu,  who  reigned  in  Patala. 

Sarpa-rajni  (Sk.).  The  queen  of  the  serpents  in  the  Brdlnntinas. 

Sarva  Mandala  (Sk.).  A  name  for  the  ''Egg  of  Brahma". 

Sarvada  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "all-sacrificing".  A  title  of  Buddha,  who  in 
a  former  Jdtaka  (birth ^  sacrificed  his  kingdom,  liberty,  and  even  life,  to 
save  others. 

Sarvaga  (Sk.i.  Tlie  sui)r<iue  "World-Substance". 

Sarvatma  (Sk.).  The  supreme  Soul;  the  all-pervading  Spirit. 

Sarvesha  (Sk.).  Supreme  Being.  Tontroller  of  every  action  and 
force  in  the  universe. 

Sat  (Sk.).  The  one  ever-present  Reality  in  the  infinite  world;  the 
divine  essence  which  is,  but  cannot  be  said  r<>  <  r/v/.  ;i<  it  i-s  Altstolnteness, 
Br-)icss  itself. 

Sata  rupa  (Sk.).  The  "liundred-formed  one";  applied  to  Vaeh,  who 
to  be  :lie  female  Brahma  as.sumes  a  hundred  forms,  i.e..  Nature. 

Sati  (Eg.).  The  triadic  goddess,  with  Anouki  of  the  Egyptian  god 
Khnoum. 

Satta  (Sk.).  The  "one  and  sole  Existence" — Brahma    (neut.). 


272  TIIEOSOPHICAL 

Satti  or  Sutt(<,  (Sk.).  Tin-  l)iiniiii'i  of  living'  widows  top'tlu-r  with 
their  dead  husbands — a  custom  now  happily  al»olishi'd  in  India;  lit. 
"a  chaste  and  devoted  -wife". 

Sattva  (Sk.).  Undcrstaiulin^';  <|uicsccnce  in  divine  knowlcdjjrc  I' 
follows  jrcticrally  tin-  woi-d  limlhi  when  used  <is  a  compound  word,  e.g.. 
"  Hodhisattva  ". 

Sattva  or  Saliva,  (Sk.).  Goodness;  the  same  as  Saflro,  or  purity.  on<' 
of  the  triiftinas  or  three  divisions  of  nature. 

Satya  (Sk.).  Suprenu-  truth. 

Satya  Loka  (Sk.).  The  world  of  infinite  |>urity  and  wisdom,  thf 
c.listial  aliodc  of  lirahma  and  tin*  {jods. 

Satya  Yuga  (Sk.).  The  prolden  apre,  or  the  ape  of  truth  and  purity; 
till-  tir-^t  of  the  four  Vujras.  also  called  Krita  Yu*?a. 

Satyas  (Sk.).  Oiw  of  the  names  of  the  twelve  prreat  prods. 

Scarabaeus.  In  Iv^'vpt.  the  .symbol  of  resurrection,  and  also  of  rebirth; 
of  resurrection  for  the  mummy  or  rather  of  tlie  hijrhest  asjieets  of  the 
pn-.^nnalifif  which  animated  it.  and  of  rebirth  of  the  Ego.  the  "spiritual 
body"  of  the  lower,  human  Soul.  Epryptoloirists  pive  us  but  half  of  the 
truth,  when  in  speeulatinj^  upon  the  mcaniu'r  of  certain  in.scriptions. 
they  say,  "the  justified  soul,  once  arrived  at  a  certain  period  of  its 
pere^inations  (simply  at  the  death  of  the  physical  body)  .should  be 
united  to  its  body  (i.e.,  the  Epro)  never  more  to  he  separated  from  it*'. 
CRouge.)  What  is  this  so-called  body?  Can  it  be  the  mummy?  Cer- 
tainly not.  for  the  emptied  nuimmiticd  corpse  can  never  rt^surrect.  It 
can  only  be  the  eternal,  spiritual  vestment,  the  E(;()  that  never  dies  but 
gives  innuortality  to  whatsoever  becomes  united  with  it.  "The  delivered 
Intelligence  (which)  retakes  its  luminous  envelope  and  (re)become'=i 
Daimon",  as  Prof.  !Maspero  says,  is  the  spiritual  Ego;  the  personal  Ego 
or  Kama  Manas,  its  direct  ray,  or  the  lower  soul,  is  that  which  aspires 
to  become  Osirificrl.  i.e.,  to  unite  itself  with  its  "god";  and  that  por- 
tion of  it  which  will  succeed  in  so  doing,  will  never  more  he  srparatefl 
from  it  (the  god),  not  even  when  the  latter  incarnates  again  and  again, 
descending  j)eriodically  on  earth  in  its  pilgrimage,  in  search  of  further 
experiences  and  following  the  decrees  of  Kai'ma.  Khem.  "the  sower 
of  seed",  is  shown  on  a  stele  in  a  picture  of  KesuiTection  aft<'r  physical 
death,  as  the  creator  and  the  sower  of  the  grain  of  coru,  which  after 
corruption,  springs  up  afresh  each  time  into  a  new  ear,  on  which  a 
scaraba-us  beeth;  is  seen  poised ;  and  I  )everia  shows  very  justly  that 
"Ptah  is  the  inert,  material  form  of  Osiris,  who  will  become  Sokari 
(the  eternal  Ego)  to  l)e  reborn,  and  afterwards  be  Ilarmachus",  or 
Horus  in  his  trajisformation,  the  risen  god.  The  prayer  so  often  found 
in  tile  tumular  inscriptions,  "the  wish  for  the  resurrection  in  one's  liv- 
ing soul"  or  the  Higher  P]go,  has  ever  a  scarabteus  at  the  end,  standing 
for  the  personal  soul.  The  .scaraba-us  is  the  most  honoured,  as  the  most 
frequent  and  familiar,  of  all  Egyptian  symbols.  No  mummy  is  without 
several  of  them;  the  favourite  ornament  on  engravings,  liousehold  fur- 


GLOSSARY  273 

iiitui'L'  and  utensils  is  this  sacred  beetle,  and  Pierret  pertint-nlly  shows 
in  his  Livre  dcs  Morts  that  the  secret  meaning  of  this  hieroprlyph  i.s 
sufficiently  explained  in  that  the  Egyptian  name  for  the  scarabo?us. 
Khcprr,  signifies  to  be,  to  become,  to  buiJd  again. 

Scheo  (Eg.).  The  god  who.  conjointly  with  Tefnant  and  Seb,  inhabits 
Aanroo  the  region  called  "the  land  of  the  rebirth  of  the  gods''. 

Schesoo-Hor  (Eg.).  Lit.,  the  servants  of  Horus:  the  early  people  who 
settled  ill  Egypt  and  who  were  Aryans. 

Schools  of  the  Prophets.  Schools  established  by  Samuel  for  the  train- 
ing of  the  Nahiim  (])rophets).  Their  method  was  pursued  on  the  same 
lines  as  that  of  a  Chela  or  candidate  for  initiation  into  the  occult 
sciences,  i.e.,  the  development  of  abnormal  faculties  or  clairvoyance 
leading  to  Seership.  Of  such  schools  there  were  many  in  days  of  old  in 
Palestine  and  Asia  ]\Iinor.  That  the  Hebrews  worshiped  Nebo.  the 
Chaldean  god  of  secret  learning,  is  quite  certain,  since  they  adopted  his 
name  as  an  equivalent  of  Wisdom. 

Seance.  A  word  which  has  come  to  mean  with  Theosopbists  and 
Spiritualists  a  sitting  with  a  medium  for  phenomena,  the  materialisation 
of  "spirits"  and  other  manifestations. 

Seb  (Eg.).  The  Egyptian  Saturn;  the  father  of  Osiris  and  Isis. 
E-soterically,  tlie  sole  principle  before  creation,  nearer  in  meaning  to 
Parabrahm  than  Brahma.  From  as  early  as  the  second  Dynasty,  there 
were  records  of  him,  and  statues  of  Seb  are  to  be  seen  in  the  museums 
represented  with  the  goose  or  black  swan  that  laid  the  egg  of  the  world 
on  his  head.  Nout  or  Neith,  the  "Great  Mother"  and  yet  the  "Immacu- 
late Virgin",  is  Seb's  wife;  she  is  the  oldest  goddess  on  record,  and 
is  to  be  found  on  monuments  of  the  first  dynasty,  to  which  ^lariette 
Bey  assigns  the  date  of  almost  7000  years  n.C. 

Secret  Doctrine.  The  general  name  given  to  the  esoteric  teachings 
(•f  anti(]uity. 

Sedecla  (H(b.).  The  Obeali  woman  of  Endor. 

Seer.  One  who  is  a  clairvoyant;  who  can  see  things  visible,  and 
invisible — for  others — at  any  distance  and  time  witli  his  spiritual  or 
inner  sight  or  perceptions. 

Seir  Anpin,  or  Zauir  Anpin  (Hcb.).  In  the  Kabbalah,  "the  Son  of 
the  eoiK'caled  Father",  he  who  unites  in  himself  all  the  Sephirotli. 
Adam  Kadmon,  or  the  first  manifested  "Heavenly  Man",  the  Logos. 

Sekhem  (Eg.).  Tiie  same  as  Sekten. 

Sekhet  (Eg.).  See  "Pasht". 

Sekten  (Eg.).  Devaehan  ;  the  j)laee  of  post  niortt  m  reward,  a  state  of 
bliss,  not  a  locality. 

Sena  (Sk.).  The  female  asp.et  .n-  Snkli  ..f  Karttikeya;  also  called 
Kaumara. 

Senses.  The  ten  organs  of  man.     In  the  exoteric  Pantheon  and  the 


274  THEOSoriii-\i. 

iilli<r()nt's  of  tlu'  East,  tlu-sc  an-  tin-  tniaiiaiioiis  of  ten  iiiiiior  {;ods.  the 
terrestrial  I'rajapati  or  "profjtMiitors".  Tlioy  aro  ealk-d  in  coiitradis- 
»in('tion  to  tlu'  livr  physical  and  the  st'vcn  snpi  rpliysical.  tlio  "t'lemcn- 
tary  senses" '.  In  Oeeultisni  tliey  are  closely  allied  with  various  forees 
of  natiiie,  and  with  our  inner  or{]?anisnis,  called  cells  in  physiology. 

Senzar.  The  inystie  name  for  the  .secret  .sacerdotal  lanj^uape  or  tli>- 
"  .Mystery -speech"  of  the  initiated  Adepts,  all  over  the  world. 

Sepher  Sephiroth  (lid).).  A  Kabbalistie  treati.se  coneerninf?  the 
•rradual  evolution  of  Deity  from  neprative  repose  to  active  emanation  and 
creation,     [w.w.w.] 

Sepher  Yetzirah  (lid).).  "The  Book  of  Formation".  A  very  ancient 
Kalihalistie  work  a.seribed  to  the  patriarch  Abraluim.  It  illustrates  the 
ereation  of  the  universe  by  analogy  with  the  twenty-two  letters  of  the 
Hebrew  alphabet,  distributed  into  a  triad,  a  heptad,  and  a  dodecad.  cor- 
responding with  the  three  mother  letters,  A,  M,  S,  the  seven  planets, 
and  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac.  It  is  written  in  the  Neo-Hebraic 
of  the  Mi.^hnah.      [w.w.w.] 

Sephira  (Ilrh.).  An  emanation  of  Deity;  the  parent  and  synthesis 
of  the  ten  Sei>hiroth  when  she  stands  at  the  head  of  the  Sephirothal 
Tree;  in  the  Kahhalah,  Sephira,  or  the  "Sacred  Aged",  is  the  divine 
Intelligence  (the  same  as  Sophia  or  Metis),  the  first  emanation  from 
the  "Endless"  or  Ain-Suph. 

Sephiroth  (Ifi  />.;.  The  ten  emanations  of  Deity;  the  highest  is  formed 
by  the  eoiicentration  of  the  Ain  Soph  Aur,  or  the  Limitless  Light,  and 
each  Sephira  produces  by  emanation  another  Sephira.  The  names  of 
the  Ten  Sephiroth  are — 1.  Kether — The  Crowni;  2.  Chokmah — "Wisdom; 
:i.  Binah — Understanding;  4.  Chesed. — Mercy;  5.  Geburah — Power;  6. 
Tipliereth — Beauty  ;  7.  Netzach — Victory  ;  8.  Hod— Splendour ;  9.  Jesod — 
Foundation;  and  10.  Malkuth — The  Kingdom. 

The  conception  of  Deity  embodied  in  the  Ten  Sephiroth  is  a  very 
sublime  one.  and  each  Sephira  is  a  picture  to  the  Kabbalist  of  a  group 
of  exalted  ideas,  titles  and  attributes,  which  the  name  but  faintly  rep- 
resents. Each  Sepliira  is  called  either  active  or  passive,  though  this 
attribution  may  lead  to  error;  passive  does  not  mean  a  return  to  nega- 
tive existence;  and  the  two  words  only  express  the  relation  between  in 
dividnal  Se])hiroth,  and  not  any  ab.solute  quality,      [w.w.w.] 

Septerium  (Lai.).  A  great  religious  festival  held  in  days  of  old  every 
ninth  year  at  Delphi,  in  honour  of  Helios,  the  Sun,  or  Apollo  to  com- 
memorate his  triumph  over  darkness,  or  Python;  Apollo-Python  being 
the  same  as  Osiris-Typhon  in  Egypt. 

Seraphim  flleh.)  Celestial  beings  described  by  Lsaiah  (vi.,  2,)  as  of 
human  foi-ni  with  the  addition  of  three  pair  of  wings.  The  Hebrew 
word  is  ShKPIM.  and  ai)art  from  the  above  instance,  is  translated 
serpents,  and  is  related  to  the  verbal  root  ShRP,  to  burn  up.  The  word 
is  used  for  serpents  in   Xiniilxrs  and   I)<  ut(  ronom]i.     Moses  is  said  to 


GLOSSARY  275 

have  raised  in  the  wilderness  a  SliRP  or  Seraph  of  Brass  as  a  type. 
This  bright  serpent  is  also  used  as  an  emblem  of  Liglit. 

Compare  the  myth  of  ^sculapius,  the  healing  deity,  wno  is  said  to 
have  been  brought  to  Rome  from  Epidaurus  as  a  serpent,  and  whose 
statues  show  him  liolding  a  wand  on  which  a  snake  is  twisted.  (See  Ovid, 
Metam..  lib.  xv.).  The  Scrapliim  of  the  Old  Testament  seems  to  be 
related  to  the  Cherubim  (q.v.).  In  the  Kabhahih  tlie  Seraphim  are  a 
group  of  angelic  powers  allotted  to  the  Sephira  Geburah— Severity-, 
[w.w.w.] 

Serapis  (Eg.).  A  great  solar  god  who  replaced  Osiris  in  the  iK)i)ular 
woi-sliiv),  and  in  whose  honour  the  seven  vowels  were  sung.  He  was 
often  made  to  appear  in  representations  as  a  serpent,  a  "Dragon  of 
Wisdom".  The  greatest  god  of  Egypt  during  the  first  eenturies  of 
Christianity. 

Sesha  (Sk.).  Ananta,  the  great  Serpent  of  Eternity,  the  couch  of 
Vishnu;  the  symbol  of  infinite  Time  in  Space.  In  the  exoteric  beliefs 
Sesha  is  represented  as  a  tho-usand-headed  and  5(rf»-headed  cobra;  the 
former  the  king  of  the  nether  world,  called  Patala.  the  latter  the 
carrier  or  support  of  Vishnu  on  the  Ocean  of  Space. 

Set  or  Seth  (Eg.).  The  same  as  the  Son  of  Noah  and  Typhon — who 
is  the  dark  side  of  Osiri.s.  The  same  as  Thoth  and  Satan,  the  adversary, 
not  the  devil  represented  by  Christians. 

Sevekh  (Eg.).  The  god  of  time;  Chronos;  the  same  as  S'fckh.  Some 
Orientalists  translate  it  as  the  "Seventh". 

Shaberon  (Tib.).  Tlie  ^Mongolian  Shaberon  or  Khubilgan  (or  Khubil- 
khans)  are  the  reincarnations  of  Buddha,  according  to  the  Lamaists ; 
great  Saints  and  Avotars,  so  to  say. 

Shaddai,  El  (Hcb.).  A  name  of  the  Hebrew  Deity,  usually  translated 
God  Almiglity,  found  in  Genesis,  Exodus,  Numbers,  Ruth  and  Job.  Its 
Greek  equivalent  is  Kurios  Pantokrator;  but  by  Hebrew  derivation  it 
means  rather  "the  pourer  forth",  shad  meaning  a  beast,  and  indeed 
shdi  is  also  used  for  "a  nursing  mother",     [w.w.w.] 

Shamans.  An  order  of  Tartar  or  iMongolian  priest-magicians,  or  as 
some  say,  priest-sorcerers.  They  are  not  Buddliists,  but  a  sect  of  the 
old  Bhon  religion  of  Tibet.  They  live  mostly  in  Siberia  and  its 
borderlands.  Both  men  and  women  may  be  Shamans.  They  are  all 
magicians,  or  rather  sensitives  or  mediums  artificially  developed.  At 
present  those  who  act  as  priests  among  the  Tartars  are  generally  very 
ignorant,  and  far  below  tlie  fakirs  in  knowledge  and  education. 

Shanah  (II(b.).  The  Lunar  Year. 

Shangna  (Sk.).  A  mysterious  epithet  given  to  a  robe  or  "vesture" 
in  a  metaphorical  sense.  To  put  on  the  "Shangna  robe"  means  the 
acquirement  of  Secret  Wisdom,  and  Initiation.  (See  Voice  of  the 
Silence,  pp.  84  and  85,  Glossary.) 


276  THh>»surjii<  \i, 

Shaatra  nr  S'astra  (Skj.  A  treatise  or  hook;  any  work  of  divine  or 
accfptcd  autliority.  inchidiiif:'  law  books.  A  Shustri  means  to  this  day. 
ill   Iruli'i,  a  man  U'arned  in  divim-  and  Iniinan  law. 

Shedim  '  Ilfb.).  See  "Si.idiiM  ". 

Shekinah  (Jlch.).  A  title  applied  to  .Malkuth.  tiiL-  tenili  S.pliiru.  by 
the  Kuhlxilists;  but  by  the  dews  to  the  cloud  of  {^'lory  which  rested  on 
the  .Mercy-seat  in  the  Holy  of  Holies.  As  taujjht,  however,  by  all  the 
Habbins  of  Asia  Minor,  its  nature  is  of  a  more  exalted  kind,  Shekinah 
beinp  the  veil  of  Ain-Soph,  the  Hndless  and  the  Absolute;  hence  a  kind 
nf  Kabbalistic  Mfdaprakriti.      [w.w.w.] 

Shells.  A  Kabbalistic  name  for  the  phantoms  of  the  dead,  the 
'"spirits"  of  the  Spiritualists,  lipurin*;  in  i)hysieal  phenomena;  so  named 
on  account  of  their  biinji:  simjily  illusive  forms,  rtuptj/  of  their  higher 
principles. 

Shemal  iChnhl.).  S.imael.  the  spirit  of  the  earth,  its  presiding  ruler 
and  geinus. 

Shemhamphorash  (Ilihj.  The  separated  name.  The  mirific  name 
derivctl  from  tin'  substance  of  deity  and  showing  its  self-existent  essence. 
Jesus  was  accused  by  the  Jews  of  having  stolen  this  name  from  the 
Tempi"  by  magic  arts,  and  of  using  it  in  the  production  of  his  miracles. 

Sheol  (Hrb.).  The  hell  of  the  Hebrew  Pantheon;  a  region  of  stillness 
and   iniictivity  as  distinguished  from  Gehenna,   (q.v.). 

Shien-Sien  (Chin.).  A  state  of  bliss  and  soul-freedom,  during  wliieh 
a  man  e.ni  travel  in  spirit  where  he  likes. 

Shiites  (I'^rs.).  A  .sect  of  Musselmen  who  place  the  prophet  All  ]iigh«r 
tlian  Mohammed,  rejecting  Sunnah  or  tradition. 

Shila  (Pali).  The  second  virtue  of  the  ten  Paramitas  of  perfection. 
I''  rf'it   harmony  iti  words  and  acts. 

Shinto  (Jap.).  The  ancient  religion  of  Japan  before  Buddhism  based 
upon  the  worshij)  of  spirits  and  ancestors. 

Shoel-ob  (Ilch.).  A  consulter  with  familiar  "spirits";  a  necromancer, 
a  raiser  of  the  dead,  or  of  their  phantoms. 

Shoo  (E(i.).  A  personification  of  the  god  Ra ;  represented  as  the 
"trnat  cat  of  the  Basin  of  Persea  in  Anu". 

Shudala  Madan  (Tarn.).  The  vampire,  the  ghoul,  or  graveyard  spook. 

ShUle  Madan  (Tarn.).  The  elemental  which  is  said  to  help  the  "jug- 
gler'^"  to  LM'ow  mango  trees  and  do  other  wonders. 

Shutukt  (Tib.).  A  collegiate  monastery  in  Tibet  of  great  fame,  con- 
tain iii'_'  over  .S0,000  monks  and  students. 

Sibac  (Quiche).  The  reed  from  the  pitli  of  which  the  third  race  of 
men  was  created,  according  to  the  scripture  of  the  Guatemalians.  called 
the  Popol  Vuh. 

Sibika  (Sk.).  The  weapon  of  Kuvera.  god  of  wealth  (a  Vedic  deity 
living  in  Htides.  hence  a  kind  of  Plut^").  made  out  of  the  parts  of  the 


GLOSSARY  277 

diviuf  .splriiddur  of  Vislimi.  n-sidiiifr  in  tlif  Sun.  and  rtlt-d  <»rt'  by  Vis- 
varkarman,  tlif  '^'od  Initiate. 

Siddbanta  /Skj.  Any  Irarncd  work  on  jistmnomy  or  niath<'maties. 
in  India 

Siddhartha  (Sk.).     A  name  jriven  to  Gautama  Buddha. 

Siddhas  (Sk.).  Saints  and  safrts  who  havo  hopomc  almost  divin*-  also 
a  hiirari'hy  of  Dhyan  Cholians. 

Siddhasana  (Sk.).  A  posture  in  Ilatha-yo^M  practices. 

Siddha-Sena  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  leader  of  Siddhas";  a  title  of  Kartti- 
keya,  I  he  "  mysterious  youth"  (kumdra  guha). 

Siddhis  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "attributes  of  perfection":  ph.-nomenal  powers 
acquired   throuprh  holiness  by  Yopris. 

Siddim  (Ilch.).  The  Canaanites,  we  are  told.  worshippf<l  thes--  i-vil 
powers  as  deities,  the  name  meaning  the  "pourers  forth  ' ;  a  valley  was 
named  after  them.  There  seems  to  be  a  connection  between  these,  as 
types  of  Fertile  Nature,  and  the  many-bosomed  Isis  and  Diana  of 
Ephesus.  In  Psalm  cvi.,  37,  the  word  is  translated  "devils",  and  we 
are  told  that  the  Canaanites  shed  the  blood  of  their  sons  and  dangrhtfrs 
to  them.  Tiieir  title  st-ems  to  come  from  the  same  root  ShD.  from  whieh 
the  god  named  El  Shaddai  is  derived,     [w.w.w.] 

The  Arabic  Shcdim  means  "Nature  Spirits".  Elementals:  they  are 
the  afrits  of  modern  Egypt  and  cljins  of  Persia,  India,  etc 

Sidereal.  Anything  relating  to  the  stars,  but  also,  in  Occultism,  t<t 
various  influences  emanating  from  such  regions,  such  as  ".sidereal 
force",  as  taught  by  Paracelsus,  and  sidereal  numinous),  ethereal  body, 
etc. 

Si-dzang  (Chin.).  The  Chinese  name  for  Tibet;  m.-ntioned  in  the 
Imperial  Library  of  the  capital  of  Fo  Kein,  as  the  "gn-at  seat  of  Occult 
learning",  2,207  years  ii.c.     (Secret  Doctrine.  I.,  p.  271. 

Slge  (Or.).  "Silence";  a  name  adopt(>d  by  the  Gnostics  to  signify  the 
root  whence  proceed  the  ..^ons  of  the  .second  series. 

Sighra  or  Sighraga  (Sk.).  The  father  of  Moru.  "wlio  is  still  living 
tlirough  the  power  of  Yoga,  and  will  manifest  hims<-lf  in  the  beginning 
of  the  Krita  age  in  order  to  re-establish  the  K.^hnttriifas  in  tin-  nineteenth 
Yuga"  say  the  Puranic  pro])hecies.  "Moru"  stands  here  for  "Morya", 
the  dynasty  of  tin-  Buddhist  sovereigns  of  Pataliputra  which  began  with 
the  great  King  Chandragupta,  the  grandsire  of  King  Asoka.  ft  is  the 
first  Buddhist  Dynasty.     (S(cr(t  Doctrine.  1..  :i78.) 

Sigurd  (Scand.).  The  iiero  who  slew  Fafnir.  the  "Dragon",  roasted 
his  heart  and  ate  it,  after  which  he  b(^eame  the  wisest  of  men.  .\n 
allegory  referring  to  Occult  study  and  initiation. 

Simeon-ben-Jochai.  An  Adept-Rabbin,  who  was  the  author  of  the 
Zohnr.  (q.v.). 


278  THEOSOPJIK    \l. 

Simon  Magus.  A  \rry  <,Tfat  Siinuiritan  (iimstic  and  'l'li;iuiiianir<jist, 
callfii  "ilir  jrrcat    Power  of  (lod". 

Simorgh  (I'lrs.j.  Tlic  sanu'  as  the  \viii<rt'(l  Siorfrli.  a  kind  of  frifrantie 
^'riftin,  half  i)lui'nix,  half  lion,  cndowt'd  in  the  Iranian  lejronds  with 
oracular  powers.  8inior<ih  was  the  jiuardian  of  the  ancient  Persian 
Mysteries.  Tt  is  expected  to  reapjx-ar  at  the  end  of  the  cycle  as  a 
;^'i«rantic  bird-lion.  E.soterically,  it  stands  as  the  .symbol  of  the  Manvan- 
taric  cycle.     Its  Arabic  name  is  liakshi. 

Sinai  (Hch.).  Mount  Sinai,  the  Nissi  of  Exodus  (xvii.,  15),  the  birth- 
place of  almost  all  the  solar  fjods  of  anti(iuity,  such  as  Dionysus,  born  at 
Nissa  or  Nysa,  Zeus  of  Nysa,  Bacchus  and  Osiris,  (q.v.)  Some 
ancient  i)eople  believed  the  Sun  to  be  the  progeny  of  the  ]\Ioon,  who  was 
herself  a  Sun  once  upon  a  time.  Sin-a'i  is  the  "Moon  Mountain",  hence 
the  connexion. 

Sing  Bonga.     The  Sun-.spirit  with  the  KoUarian  tribes. 

Singha  CSk.).    The  constellation  of  Leo;  Singh  meaning  "lion". 

Sinika  (Sk.).  Also  Sinita  and  Sanika,  etc.,  as  variants.  The  Vishnu 
Purana  gives  it  as  the  name  of  a  future  sage  who  will  be  taught  by  him 
who  will  become  Maitreya.  at  the  end  of  Kali  Yuga,  and  adds  that  this  is 
a  great  mystery. 

Sinivali  (Sk.).  The  lir.st  day  of  the  new  moon,  which  is  greatly  con- 
nected with  Occult  i)ractices  in  India. 

Siphra  Dtzeniouta  (Chald.).    The  Book  of  Concealed  Mystery;  one 

ilivisioii  of  the  Zohar.     (See  Mathers'  Kahhalah  Unveiled.) 

Sirius  (Gr.).  In  Egyptian,  Sothis.  The  dog-star:  the  star  wor- 
sliipi)ed  in  Egypt  and  reverenced  by  the  Occultists;  by  the  former 
becau.se  its  heliacal  rising  with  the  Sun  was  a  sign  of  the  beneficent 
inundation  of  the  Nile,  atid  by  the  latter  because  it  is  mysteriously 
associated  with  Thoth-llermes,  god  of  wisdom,  and  Mercury,  in  another 
form.  Thus  Sothis-Sirius  had,  and  still  has,  a  my.stic  and  direct  influ- 
ence over  the  whole  living  heaven,  and  is  connected  with  almost  every 
god  and  goddess.  Tt  was  "Isis  in  the  lieaven"  and  called  Isis-Sothis,  for 
Isis  was  "in  the  constellation  of  the  dog",  as  is  declared  on  her  monu- 
ments. "The  soul  of  Osiris  was  believed  to  reside  in  a  personage  who 
walks  with  great  steps  in  front  of  Sothis,  sceptre  in  hand  and  a  whip 
upon  his  shoulder."  Sirius  is  also  Anubis,  and  is  directly  connected 
with  the  ring  "Pa.ss  me  not";  it  is,  moreover,  identical  with  ^Nlithra. 
the  Persian  My.stery  god,  and  with  Ilorus  and  even  Ilathor,  called 
sometimes  the  goddess  Sothis.  Being  connected  with  the  Pyramid, 
Sirius  was,  therefore,  connected  with  the  initiations  whicli  took  place  in 
it.  A  temple  to  Sirius-Sothis  once  existed  within  the  great  temple  of 
Denderah.  To  sum  up,  all  religions  are  not,  as  Dufeu,  the  French 
Egyptologist,  sought  to  prove,  derived  from  Sirius,  the  dog-star,  but 
Siriu.s-Sothis  is  certainly  found  in  connection  with  every  religion  of 
antiquity. 


GLOSSARY  279 

Sishta  (SkJ.  Tlie  {jreat  fleet  or  Safres,  left  after  every  minor  Pralaya 
(tliat  which  is  called  "obscuration"  in  Mr.  Sinnett's  Esoteric  Bud- 
dhism), when  the  globe  goes  into  its  night  or  rest,  to  become  on  its 
re-awakening,  the  seed  of  the  next  humanity.    Lit.  "  remnant. "' 

Sisthrus  (Chald.).  Ac<;ording  to  Berosus.  the  last  of  tht-  ti-n  kings 
of  the  dynasty  of  the  divine  kings,  and  the  "Noah"  of  Clialdea.  Thus, 
as  Vishnu  foretells  the  coming  deluge  to  Vaivasvata-Manu,  and  fore- 
warning, commands  him  to  build  an  ark,  wherein  he  and  seven  Rishis 
are  saved ;  so  the  god  Hea  foretells  the  same  to  Sisithrus  Cor 
Xisuthrus)  commanding  him  to  prepare  a  vessel  and  save  liimself  with  a 
few  elect.  Following  suit,  almost  800,000  years  later,  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel  repeats  the  warning  to  Noah.  Which  is  prior,  therefore?  The 
story  of  Xisutlirus,  now  deciphered  from  the  Assyrian  tablets,  corrobo- 
rates that  which  was  said  of  the  Clialdean  deluge  by  Bero.sus.  Apollo- 
dorus,  Abydenus,  etc.,  etc.  (See  eleventh  tablet  in  G.  Smith's  Chaldean 
Account  of  Genesis,  page  263,  et  seq.).  This  tablet  xi.  covers  every  point 
treated  of  in  chapters  six  and  seven  of  Genesis — the  gods,  the  sins  of 
men,  the  command  to  build  an  ark,  the  Flood,  the  destruction  of  men, 
the  dove  and  the  raven  sent  out  of  the  ark,  and  finally  the  Blount  of 
Salvation  in  Armenia  (Nizir-Ararat)  ;  all  is  there.  The  words  "the  god 
Hea  heard,  and  his  liver  was  angry,  because  his  men  had  corrupted  his 
purity",  and  the  story  of  his  destroying  all  his  seed,  were  engraved  on 
stone  tablets  many  thousand  years  before  the  Assyrians  reproduced  them 
on  their  baked  tiles,  and  even  these  most  assuredly  antedate  the  Penta- 
teuch, "written  from  memory"  by  Ezra,  hardly  four  centuries  B.C. 

Sistrum  (Gr.).  Egyptian  sscsh  or  kemkcn.  An  instrument,  usually 
made  of  bronze  but  sometimes  of  gold  or  silver,  of  an  open  circular  form, 
with  a  handle,  and  four  wires  passed  through  holes,  to  the  end  of  which 
jingling  pieces  of  metal  were  attached;  its  top  was  ornamented  with  a 
figure  of  Isis,  or  of  Ilathor.  It  was  a  sacred  instrument,  used  in  tem- 
ples for  the  purpose  of  producing,  by  means  of  its  combination  of  metals. 
magnetic  currents,  and  sounds.  To  this  day  it  has  survived  in  Christian 
Abyssinia,  under  the  name  of  sanascl,  and  the  good  priests  use  it  to 
"drive  devils  from  the  premises",  an  act  quite  comprehensible  to  the 
Occultist,  even  though  it  does  provoke  laughter  in  the  sceptical  Orien- 
talist. The  priestess  usually  held  it  in  her  right  iiand  during  the  cere- 
mony of  xiurifwation  of  the  air,  or  the  "conjuration  of  the  elements", 
as  E.  Levi  would  call  it,  while  tlie  priests  held  the  Sistrum  in  their  left 
hand,  using  the  right  to  manipulate  the  "key  of  life" — the  handled 
cross  or  Tau. 

Sisumara  (Sk.).  An  imaginary  rotating  belt,  upon  wliieh  all  the 
celestial  bodies  move.  This  host  of  stars  and  constellations  is  repre- 
sented under  the  figure  of  Sisumara,  a  tortoise  (some  say  a  porpoise!), 
dragon,  crocodile,  and  what  not.  But  as  it  is  a  symbol  of  the  Yoga- 
meditation  of  holy  Vasudeva  or  Krishna,  it  must  be  a  crocodile,  or 
rather,    a    dolphin,    since    it    is    identical    with    the    zodiacal    Makara. 


280  THEOSOPlIlrAI. 

Dhruva,  tlu-  ancient  pole-star,  is  i)lac»'(l  at  the  tip  of  the  tail  of  this 
sidereal  monster,  whose  head  points  southward  and  wiiose  body  bends  in 
a  rinpr.  nio:her  along:  the  tail  are  the  Prajapati,  Agni,  etc,  and  at  its 
root  are  placed  Indra,  Dharma,  and  the  seven  Rishis  (the  Great  Bear), 
etc.,  etc.     The  meaning  is  of  course  mystical. 

Siva  (Sk.).  The  third  person  of  the  Iliiuiu  Trinity  (tiie  Trimurti). 
I  If  is  a  god  of  the  first  ordi'i-,  and  in  his  eliaraeter  of  Destroyer  liigher 
tlian  Vishnu,  the  l^i'eserver.  as  he  destroys  only  to  regenerate  on  a 
higiier  plane.  He  is  born  as  Rudra,  the  Kumara,  and  is  the  patron  of 
all  the  Yogis,  being  called,  as  such,  Maha-Yogi,  tiie  great  ascetic.  His 
titles  are  siguiticant:  Trilochana,  "the  three-eyed",  Mahndf  iv/.  "the  greal 
god".  Sayfkora,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

Siva-Rudra  (Sk.).  Rudra  is  the  Vedic  name  of  Siva,  the  latter  being 
alistiit  from  the  Veda. 

Skandha  or  SJihanda  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "bundles",  or  groups  of  attributes; 
everytiiing  finite,  inapplicable  to  the  eternal  and  the  absolute.  There 
are  five — esoterically,  seven — attributes  in  every  human  living  being, 
which  are  known  as  the  Pancha  Skandhas.  These  are  (1)  form,  rupa; 
(2)  perception,  viddna;  (3)  consciousness,  sanjnd;  (4)  action,  sanskdra; 
(5)  knowledge,  vidydna.  These  unite  at  the  birth  of  man  and  constitute 
his  personality.  After  the  maturity  of  these  Skandhas,  they  begin  to 
separate  and  weaken,  and  this  is  followed  by  jardmarana,  or  decrepti- 
tud'^  and  death. 

Skrymir  (Scand.).    One  of  the  famous  giants  in  the  Eddas. 

Sloka  (Sk.).  The  Sanskrit  epic  metre  formed  of  thirty-two  syllables: 
vrrsfs  in  four  lialf-lines  of  eight,  or  in  two  lines  of  sixteen  syllables  each. 

Smaragdine  Tablet  of  Hermes.  As  expressed  by  Eliphas  Levi,  "this 
Tablet  of  Enn-rald  is  the  whole  of  magic  in  a  single  page";  but  India 
has  a  single  word  wliicli,  when  understood,  contains  "the  whole  of 
magic".  This  is  a  tablet,  however,  alleged  to  have  been  found  by  Sarai. 
Abraham's  wife  (!)  on  tJu  dead  hod)/  of  Hermes.  So  say  the  Masons 
and  Christian  Kabbalists.  But  in  Theosophy  we  call  it  an  allegory. 
May  it  not  mean  that  Sarai-sivati,  the  wife  of  Brahmd,  or  the  goddess 
of  secret  wi-sdom  and  learning,  finding  still  much  of  the  ancient  wisdom 
latent  in  the  dead  body  of  Humanity,  revivified  that  wisdom?  This  led 
to  the  rebirth  of  the  Occult  Sciences,  so  long  forgotten  and  neglected, 
the  world  over.  The  tablet  itself,  however,  although  containing  the 
"whole  of  magic",  is  too  long  to  be  reproduced  here. 

Smartava  (Sk.).  The  Smarta  Brahmans;  a  sect  founded  by  Sanka- 
racharya. 

Smriti  (Skj.  Traditional  accounts  imparted  orally,  from  the  word 
Smriti,  "^Memory"  a  daugiiter  of  J)ak.sha.  They  are  now  the  legal  and 
ceremonial  writings  of  the  Hindus ;  the  opposite  of,  and  therefore  less 
sacred,  than  the  Vedas,  which  are  Sruti,  or  "revelation". 

Sod  (Ileh.).    An  "Arcanum",  or  religious  mystery.     The  Mysteries 


GLOSSARY  281 

of  Baal,  Adonis  and  Bacclius,  all  snn-gods  having  serpents  as  syml)ols. 
or,  as  in  tlie  ease  of  Mithra,  a  "solar  serpent".  The  ancient  Jews  had 
their  Sod  also,  symbols  not  excluded,  since  they  had  the  "brazen  .ser- 
pent" lifted  in  the  Wilderness,  which  particular  serpent  was  the  Per- 
sian Mithra,  tlie  symbol  of  Moses  as  an  Initiate,  but  was  certainly  never 
meant  to  represent  the  historical  Christ.  "The  secret  (Sod)  of  the 
Lord  is  with  them  tliat  fear  him",  says  David,  in  Psalm  xxv.,  14.  But 
this  reads  in  tiie  original  Hebrew,  "Sod  Ihoh  (or  the  Mysteries)  of 
Jehovah  are  for  those  who  fear  him".  So  terribly  is  the  Old  Testament 
mistranslated,  that  verse  7  in  Psahti  Ixxxix..  which  stands  in  the  orifrinal 
"Al  (El)  is  terrible  in  the  great  Sod  of  the  Kcdcshim"  (the  Galli,  the 
priests  of  the  inner  Jewish  mysteries),  reads  now  in  the  mutilated 
translation  "God  is  greatly  to  be  feared  in  the  asscmhhj  of  the  saints". 
Simeon  and  Levi  held  their  Sod,  and  it  is  repeatedly  mentioned  in  the 
Bible.  "Oh  my  soul,"  exclaims  the  dying  Jacob,  "come  not  thou  into 
their  secret  {Sod,  in  the  orig.),  unto  their  assembly",  i.e..  into  the 
Sodality  of  Simeon  and  Levi  {Gen.  xlix.,  6).  (See  Dunlap,  Sod,  ih' 
M II st erics  of  Adani.) 

Sodales  (Lat.).  The  members  of  the  Priest-colleges.  (See  Freund's 
iMtin  Lexicon,  iv.,  448.)  Cicero  tells  us  also  (De  Senectute,  13)  that 
"Sodalities  were  constituted  in  the  Idfean  ^Mysteries  of  the  ]\Iighty 
Mother".   Those  initiated  into  the  Sod  were  termed  the  "Companions". 

Sodalian  Oath.  The  most  sacred  of  all  oaths.  The  penalty  of  death 
followed  the  breaking  of  the  Sodalian  oath  or  pledge.  The  oath  and  the 
Sod  (the  secret  learning)  are  earlier  than  the  Kabbalah  or  Tradition, 
and  the  ancient  Midrashim  treated  fully  of  the  ^Mysteries  or  Sod  before 
they  passed  into  the  Zohar.  Now  they  are  referred  to  as  tlie  Secret 
Mysteries  of  the  Tliorali,  or  Law,  to  break  which  is  fatal. 

Soham  (Sk.).  A  mvstic  svllable  rejiresenting  involutions:  lit.,  "That 
1  am". 

Sokaris  (Eg.).  A  tire-god;  a  solar  deity  of  many  forms.  He  is  Ptah- 
Sokaris,  wlien  tlie  symbol  is  purely  cosmic,  and  "Ptah-Sokaris-Osiris" 
when  it  is  i)hallic.  This  deity  is  hermaphrodite,  the  sacred  bull  Apis 
l)eing  its  .son,  conceived  in  it  by  a  solar  ray.  According  to  Smith's 
History  of  th(  East,  Ptah  is  a  "second  Demiurgus,  an  emanation  from 
the  first  creative  Principle"  (the  first  Logos).  The  upriglit  Ptah,  with 
cross  and  staff,  is  the  "creator  of  the  eggs  of  the  sun  and  moon". 
PieiTet  thinks  that  he  rei)resents  the  i)rimordial  Force  that  preceded 
the  gods  and  "created  the  stars,  and  the  eggs  of  the  sun  and  moon". 
Mariette  Bey  sees  in  him  "Divine  Wisdom  scattering  the  stars  in  im- 
mensity", and  he  is  corroborated  by  the  Targum  of  Jerusalem,  which 
states  that  the  "Egvjitiaiis  called  the  Wisdom  of  the  First  Intellect 
Ptah". 

Sokhit  (Eg.).    A  deity  to  whom  the  cat  was  sacred. 

Solomon's  Seal.  The  symbolical  double  triangle,  adopted  by  the  T.  S. 
and  by  many  Theosophists.     Why  it  should  be  called  "Solomon's  Seal" 


2g2  THKOSOPIIKM. 

is  a  mystery,  unless  it  eaine  to  Europe  from  Iran,  when*  many  stories  are 
told  about  that  mythieal  personafr*'  and  the  maf;io  seal  used  by  him  to 
eateh  the  djins  and  imprison  them  in  old  bottles.  Rut  this  seal  or  doubh- 
trian<ile  is  also  called  in  India  tht-  "Sifjn  of  Vislinu",  and  may  be  seen 
on  the  houses  in  every  villaj,'e  as  a  talisman  apainst  evil.  The  trianple 
was  saered  and  used  as  a  relijrious  sifjn  in  the  far  East  afres  before 
Pythaproras  proclaimed  it  to  be  the  first  of  the  p-ometrieal  fifrures.  as 
well  as  the  most  mysterious.  It  is  found  on  i)yramid  and  obelisk,  and 
is  prepriuint  with  occult  meaning,  as  are,  in  fact,  all  triangles.  Thus  the 
pcntaprram  is  the  triple  triaufrle — the  six-pointed  beinpr  the  h<  xalp  ha. 
(See  "Pentacle"  and  "Pentafrram".'!  The  way  a  trianjrlc  points 
determines  its  meaning?.  If  ui)w;irds.  it  means  the  male  element  and 
(iivitif  fire:  downwards,  the  female  and  the  watrrs  of  matter;  upripht. 
but  with  a  bar  across  the  top,  air  and  astral  lijrht  :  downwards,  with 
a  bar — the  earth  or  prross  matter,  etc.,  etc.  When  a  Greek  Christian 
priest  in  blessinfr  holds  his  two  finjrers  and  thumb  together,  he  simi)ly 
makes  the  mapic  siprn — by  the  power  of  the  triangle  or  "trinity". 

Soma  fSk.).  The  moon,  and  also  the  juice  of  the  plant  of  that  name 
used  in  the  temples  for  trance  purposes;  a  sacred  beverafr'-.  f^oma.  the 
moon,  is  the  symbol  of  the  Sercet  Wisdom.  In  the  Upanishnds  the  word 
is  used  to  denote  frross  matter  (with  an  association  of  moistunO  capable 
of  producing:  life  under  the  action  of  heat.     (See  "Soma-drink".) 

Soma-drink.  ^Made  from  a  rare  mountain  plant  by  initiated  Brah- 
maiis.  This  Hindu  sacred  beverapre  answers  to  the  Greek  ambrosia  or 
nectar,  (piaffed  by  the  Gods  of  Olyminis.  A  cup  of  Kykeon  was  also 
quaffed  by  the  i\Iystes  at  the  Elensinian  initiation.  He  who  drinks  it 
easily  reaches  Bradhna,  or  the  place  of  splendour  (Heaven  i.  The  Soma- 
drink  known  to  Europeans  is  not  the  genuine  beverajre,  but  its  substi- 
tute ;  for  the  initiated  priests  alone  can  taste  of  the  real  Soma ;  and 
even  kinjrs  and  Rajas,  when  sacrificinfr,  receive  the  substitute.  Haupr. 
by  his  own  confession,  shows  in  his  Aitarcj/a  Brnhmana,  that  it  was 
not  the  Soma  that  he  tasted  and  found  nasty,  but  the  juice  from  the 
roots  of  the  Nyaprradha,  a  i)lant  or  bush  whieii  prrows  on  the  hills  of 
Poona.  We  were  positively  informed  that  the  majority  of  the  .sacrificial 
priests  of  the  Dekkan  have  lost  the  secret  of  the  true  Soma.  It  can  b.- 
found  neither  in  the  ritual  books  nor  through  oral  information.  The 
true  followers  of  the  primitive  Vedic  reliprion  are  very  few ;  these  are 
the  alleged  descendants  of  the  Ri.shis,  the  real  Agnihotris,  the  initiates 
of  the  great  Mysteries.  The  Soma-drink  is  also  commemorated  in  th-- 
Hindu  Pantheon,  for  it  is  called  King-Soma.  He  who  drinks  thereof 
is  made  to  participate  in  the  heavenly  king;  he  becomes  filled  with  his 
essence,  as  the  Christian  apostles  and  tlieir  converts  were  tilled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  purified  ef  their  sins.  The  Soma  makes  a  new  man 
of  the  initiate;  he  is  reborn  and  transformed,  and  his  spiritual  nature 
overcomes  the  physical ;  it  bestows  the  divine  power  of  inspiration,  and 
develops  the  clairvoyant  faculty  to  the  utmost.  According  to  the  ex- 
oteric explanation   the  soma  is  a  plant,  but  at  the  .same  time  it   is  an 


GLOSSARY  283 

angel.  It  forcibly  connects  the  inner,  hiprhcst  "spirit"  of  man.  which 
spirit  is  an  angel  like  the  my.stical  Soma,  with  his  "irrational  soul". 
OT  astral  body,  and  thus  united  by  the  power  of  the  magic  drink,  they 
soar  togetlier  above  physical  nature  and  participate  during  life  in  the 
beatitude  and  ineffable  glories  of  Heaven. 

Thus  the  Hindu  Soma  is  mystically  and  in  all  respects  the  same  that 
the  Eucharist  .supper  is  to  the  Christian.  The  idea  is  similar.  By 
means  of  tlie  sacrificial  prayer.s — the  mantras — this  liquor  is  supposed 
to  be  immediately  transformed  into  the  real  Soma,  or  the  angel,  and  even 
into  Brahma  liimself.  Some  missionaries  liave  expressed  tliemselves  with 
much  indignation  about  this  ceremony,  tiie  more  so,  seeing  that  the 
Brahmans  generally  use  a  Jiind  of  spirituous  liquor  as  a  substitute.  But 
do  the  Christians  believe  less  fervently  in  the  transubstantiation  of  the 
communion  wine  into  tlie  blood  of  Christ,  because  this  wine  happens  to 
be  more  or  less  spirituous?  Is  not  the  idea  of  the  symbol  attached  to 
it  the  same  ?  But  the  missionaries  say  that  this  hour  of  soma-drinking 
is  the  golden  hour  of  Satan,  who  lurks  at  the  bottom  of  the  Hindu 
sacrificial  cup.     (Isis  Unveiled.) 

Soma-loka  (Sk.).  A  kind  of  lunar  abode  where  the  god  Soma,  the 
regent  of  the  moon,  resides.  The  abode  of  the  Lunar  Pitris — or 
Pitriloka. 

Somapa  (Sk.).  A  class  of  Lunar  Pitris.  (See  "Trisuparna.") 
Somnambulism  Lit,  "sleep-w^alking",  or  moving,  acting,  writing, 
reading  and  performing  every  function  of  waking  consciousness  in  one's 
sleep,  with  utter  oblivion  of  the  fact  on  awakening.  This  is  one  of  the 
great  ps.ycho-physiological  phenomena,  the  least  understood  as  it  is  th(> 
most  puzzling,  to  which  Occultism  alone  holds  the  key. 

Son-kha-pa  (Tib.).  Written  also  Tsong-kha-pa.  A  famous  Tibetan 
reformer  of  tlie  fourteenth  century  who  introduced  a  purified  Biuldhism 
into  his  country.  He  was  a  great  Adept,  who  being  unable  to  witness 
nny  longer  the  desecration  of  Buddhist  philosophy  by  the  false  priests 
who  made  of  it  a  marketable  commodity,  put  a  forcible  stop  thereto  by  a 
timely  revolution  and  the  exile  of  40,000  sham  monks  and  Lamas  from 
the  country.  He  is  regarded  as  an  Avatar  of  Buddha,  and  is  the  founder 
of  the  Gdukpa  ("yellow-cap")  Sect,  and  of  the  mystic  Brotherhood 
connected  with  its  chiefs.  The  "tree  of  the  10.000  images"  (khoom- 
hoom)  has,  it  is  said,  sprung  from  the  long  hair  of  this  ascetic,  who 
leaving  it  behind  him  disappeared  fonn'er  from  the  view  of  the  profane. 

Sooniam.  A  magical  ceremony  for  the  ])urpose  of  removing  a  sickness 
from  one  person  to  another.     Black  magic,  sorcery. 

Sophia  (Or.).  Wi.sdom.  The  female  Jaujos  of  the  Gnostics;  the 
Universal  Mind:  and  the  female  Holy  Ghost  with  others. 

Sophia  Achamoth  (Gr.).  The  daughter  of  Sophia.  The  personified 
Astral  Light,  or  the  lower  plane  of  Ether. 

Sortes  Sanctorum  <l.<i!.i.     The  "holy  casting  of  lots  tor  purj)oses  of 


284  THEOSOHHlt  AL 

divination "'.  practiet-d  l>y  tin-  early  and  int'diiL'val  Cliristian  cli'rjry.  St. 
Auprustine,  who  does  not  "disapprove  of  this  method  of  learningr  fu- 
turity, provided  it  be  not  used  for  worldly  purposes,  practised  it  him- 
self" (Life  of  St.  Gregrory  of  Tours).  If.  however,  "it  is  practised  by 
laymen,  heretics,  or  iieathcn"  of  any  sort,  sortcs  sanctorum  l)ecom<' — if 
we  believe  the  jrood  and  i)ioiis;  fathers — sortrs  dwhoJnrum  (\y  sfirfih  f/ium 
— sorct^rv. 

Sosiosh  (Zend).  Thi-  .Mazdran  .Saviour  wlio,  like  Vishnu,  Maitreya 
Huddha  and  others,  is  expected  to  appear  on  a  white  horse  at  the  end 
of  the  cycle  to  save  mankind.     (See  "S'ambhala".) 

Soul.  The  ^'^'X''^'  or  ncphcsh  of  the  Bible;  the  vital  principle,  or  the 
breath  of  life,  which  every  animal,  down  to  the  infusoria,  shares  w'ith 
man.  lu  the  translated  Bible  it  stands  indifferently  for  life,  blood  and 
soul,  "Let  us  not  kill  his  nephesh^\  says  the  original  text:  "let  us  not 
kill  him'\  translate  the  Christians  (Genesis  xxxvii,  21),  and  so  on. 

Sowan  (Pali).  The  first  of  the  "four  paths"  which  lead  to  Nirvana, 
in  Yoga  practice. 

Sowanee  (Pali).    He  who  entered  upon  that  "path". 

Sparsa  (Sk.).  The  sense  of  touch. 

Spenta  Armaita  (Zend).  The  female  genius  of  the  earth;  the  "fair 
daughter  of  Ahura  Mazda".  With  the  ]\Iazdeans,  Spenta  Armaita  is 
the  personified  Earth. 

Spirit.  The  lack  of  any  mutual  agreement  between  writers  in  the  use 
of  this  word  has  resulted  in  dire  confusion.  Tt  is  commonly  made 
synonymous  with  soul;  and  the  lexicographers  countenance  the  usage. 
In  Theosophical  teachings  the  term  "Spirit"  is  applied  solely  to  that 
which  belongs  directly  to  Universal  Consciousness,  and  which  is  its 
homogeneous  and  unadulterated  emanation.  Thus,  the  higher  ]Mind  in 
Man  or  his  Ego  (Manas)  is,  when  linked  indissolubly  with  Buddhi,  a 
.spirit;  while  the  term  "Soul",  human  or  even  animal  (the  lower  lianas 
acting  in  animals  as  instinct),  is  applied  only  to  Kama-Manas,  and 
qualified  as  the  living  soul.  This  is  neplush,  in  Hebrew,  ttie  "breath  of 
life".  Spirit  is  formless  and  immaterkd,  being,  when  individualised,  of 
the  highest  spiritual  substance — Suddasatwa,  the  divine  essence,  of 
which  the  body  of  the  manifesting  highest  Dhyanis  are  formed.  There- 
fore, the  Theosophists  reject  the  appellation  "Spirits"  for  those  phan- 
toms wliich  appear  in  the  i)henomenal  manifestations  of  the  Spiritual 
ists,  and  call  them  "shells",  and  various  other  names.  (See  "Suk.shma 
Sarira".)  Spirit,  in  short,  is  no  entity  in  the  sense  of  having  form;  for, 
as  Buddhist  philosoi)hy  has  it,  where  there  is  a  form,  there  is  a  caw.<fr 
for  pain  and  suffering.  But  each  individual  spirit — this  individuality 
lasting  only  throughout  the  manvantaric  life-cycle — may  be  described 
as  a  center  of  consciousness,  a  .self-sentient  and  self-conscious  centre;  a 
state,  not  a  conditioned  individual.  This  is  why  there  is  .such  a  wealth 
of  words  in  Sanskrit  to  express  the  different  States  of  Being,  Beings  and 
Entities,    each    appellation    showing    the    philosophical    difference,    the 


GLOSSARY  285 

plane  to  whit-li  siu-li  (////7  ln-loiifis,  and  the  (le*?ree  of  its  spirituality  or 
materiality.  Uiifoi-tuiiately  tliese  terms  an-  almost  nntranslatable  intb 
our  Western  tonfjues. 

Spiritualism.  In  pliilosoj^liy,  the  state  or  condition  of  mind  opposed 
to  materialism  or  a  material  coiiceptio)i  of  things.  Theosophy.  a  doctrine 
which  teaches  that  all  which  exists  is  animated  or  informed  by  the 
Universal  Soul  or  Spirit,  and  that  not  an  atom  in  onr  universe  can  be 
outside  of  tliis  omnipresent  Principle — is  purr  Spiritualism.  As  to  the 
belief  that  poes  under  that  name,  namely,  bi'lief  in  the  constant  com- 
munication of  the  living  with  the  dead,  whether  througli  the  mediumistie 
powers  of  oneself  or  a  so-called  niediioii — it  is  no  better  than  the  materi- 
alisation of  spirit,  and  the  degradation  of  the  human  and  the  divine 
souls.  Believers  in  such  communications  are  simply  dishonouring  the 
dead  and  performing  constant  .sacrilege.  It  was  well  called  "Nec- 
romancy" in  days  of  old.  But  our  modern  Spiritualists  take  offence 
at  Ix'ing  told  this  simple  trutli. 

Spook.  A  ghost,  a  hobgoblin.  T'.sed  of  tlie  various  apparitions  in  the 
seance-rooms  of  the  Spiritualists. 

Sraddha  (8k.).   Lit.,  faith,  respect,  reverence. 

Sraddha  (Sk.).  Devotion  to  the  memory  and  care  for  the  welfai-e  of 
the  manes  of  dead  relatives.  A  post-mortem  rite  for  newly-decea.sed 
kindred.   There  are  also  monthly  rites  of  Sraddha. 

Sraddhadeva  (8k.).  An  epithet  of  Yama,  the  god  of  death  and  king 
of  the  nether  world,  or  Hades. 

Sramana  (Sk.).  Buddhist  priests,  ascetics  and  postulants  for  Nirvana, 
''they  who  have  to  place  a  restraint  on  their  tlioughts".  The  word 
8nma)).  now  "Shaman"  is  a  corruptioji  of  this  primitive  word. 

Srastara  (8k.).  A  couch  consisting  of  a  mat  or  a  tiger's  skin,  strewn 
with  darhha.  ku.w  and  other  grasses,  used  by  escetics — gurus  and  elielas 
— and  spi-ead  on  the  floor. 

Sravah  (Mazd.).    Tlie  Amshaspends.  in  their  liighest  aspect. 
Sravaka  (8k.).   JAt..  "he  who  causes  to  liear":  a  pu-iieiier.     But  in 
I*>U(l(lliisin   it  denotes  a  disciple  or  chela. 

Sri  Sankaracharya  lt<k.).  Tlie  great  religious  reformer  of  India,  and 
teacher  of  the  Yedanta  pliilosoi)hy — tlie  greatest  of  all  such  teachers, 
regarded  by  the  Adwaitias  (Non-dualists)  as  an  incarnation  of  Siva  and 
a  worker  of  miracles.  lie  established  many  tuatlianis  (monasteries'*,  and 
founded  the  most  learned  sect  among  Brahmans,  called  the  Smartava. 
The  legends  about  him  are  as  numerous  as  his  jiliilosophieal  writings.  At 
the  age  of  thirty-two  he  went  to  Kashmir,  and  reaching  Kedaranatli  in 
the  Himalayas,  entered  a  cave  alone,  whence  he  never  returned.  His 
followers  claim  that  he  did  not  die,  but  only  retired  from  the  world. 

Sringa  Giri  (8k.).  A  large  and  wealthy  monastery  on  the  ridge  of 
the  Western  Ghauts  in  My.sore  (Southern  India)  :  the  chief  matham  of 
the  Adwaita  and  SmArta  Brahmans,  founded  bv  Sankaracharva.     Th<'rr 


286  THEOSOPHKAL 

ivsidt'S  tilt'  n-lijjious  lu-ad  (tlif  liitt<  r  l><iii<;  calK'cl  Saiikaraclmrya )  i»f  all 
Jill'  Vidaiitif  Adwaitas.  crt'ditcd  by  many  with  ^rrcat  abnormal  jjowits. 
Sri-pada  (Sh.).   The  imprcssutn  of  Hmldlia's  foot.    /.//..  "the  step  or 
foot  of  the  Master  or  exalted  Lord'". 

Srivatsa  iSkJ.  A  mystical  mar-k  worn  by  Krishna,  and  alsd  adopted 
by  till'  .lains. 

Sriyantra  (Sk.).  The  donbb'  trian^de  or  tlir  st-al  of  \'islinii.  ralb-d 
also  ■Sdjiimon's  seal",  and  adoj)ted  by  the  T.  S. 

Srotapatti  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "he  who  has  entered  the  stream'",  i.t .,  the 
stream  or  path  that  loads  to  Nirvana,  or  fl'jriirativily,  to  the  Nirvanie 
Oeean.     The  same  as  Sowaucc. 

Srotriya  (Sk.).  The  ai)pellalion  of  a  Hrahman  who  practises  the 
\'(  tile  ritis  he  studies,  as  distinfruished  from  the  Vrdavii,  the  Brahman 
who  studies  them  only  theoreticall}'. 

Sruti  fS'/.J.  Sacred  tradition  received  by  revelation;  the  V<(1as  are 
such  a  tradition  as  distinguished  from  "Smriti"  (q.v.). 

St.  Germain,  ihr  Count  of.  Referred  to  as  an  enifrmatical  per.sonage 
b.\  modern  wTiters.  Frederic  II.,  King:  of  Prussia,  u.sed  to  say  of  him 
that  he  was  a  man  whom  no  one  had  ever  been  able  to  make  out.  ]\Iany 
are  his  "bio<rrai)hies".  and  each  is  wilder  than  the  other.  By  somr 
he  was  refrarded  as  an  incarnate  jrod,  by  others  as  a  clever  Alsatian 
Jew.  One  thinp:  is  certain.  Count  de  St.  Germain— whatever  his  real 
patronymic  may  have  been — had  a  right  to  his  nanu'  and  title,  for  he 
had  bought  a  property  called  San  Germano,  in  tin-  Italian  Tyrol,  and 
paid  the  Poi)e  for  the  title.  He  was  uncommonly  hand.some,  and  his 
enormous  erudition  and  linpruistic  capacities  are  undeniable,  for  he  .spoke 
Enp:lish.  Italian,  French.  Spanish,  Portnpruese,  German,  Russian. 
Swedish.  Danish,  and  many  Slavonian  and  Oriental  lanjruafres.  with 
equal  facility  with  a  native.  He  was  extremely  wealthy,  never 
received  a  sou  from  anyone — in  fact  never  accepted  a  «;lass  of  water  or 
broke  bread  with  anyone — but  made  most  extravap:ant  presents  of 
superb  jewellery  to  all  his  friends,  even  to  the  royal  families  of  Europe. 
His  proficiency  in  miisic  was  marvellous;  he  played  on  every  instrument, 
the  violin  beinjr  his  favourite.  "St.  Germain  rivalled  Papranini  himself", 
was  said  of  him  by  an  octoprenarian  Belfrian  in  ISSa,  after  hearinpr  the 
"Genoese  maestro".  "It  is  St.  Germain  resurrected  who  plays  the 
violin  in  the  body  of  an  Italian  skeleton",  exclaimed  a  Lithuanian 
baron  wlio  had   heard  both. 

He  never  laid  claim  to  spiritual  powers,  but  i)roved  to  have  a  ri{;ht  to 
such  claim.  He  used  to  pa.ss  into  a  dead  trance  from  thirty-seven  to 
forty-nine  hours  without  awakeninpr,  and  then  knew  all  he  had  to  know, 
and  demonstrated  the  fact  by  prophe.syinfj  futurity  and  never  makin^r 
a  mistake.  It  is  he  who  j)roj)hesied  before  the  Kiufrs  Louis  XV.  and 
XVL,  and  the  unfoi-tunate  Marie  Antoinette.  ^laiiy  were  the  still  living 
witnesses  in  the  first  (juarter  of  this  century  who  testified  to  his  mar- 
vellous memory;   he   could    nad   a   paper   in   the   morning  and,  though 


GLOSSARY  287 

hardly  trlaiu-iii;>'  at  it,  could  repeat  its  eonteiits  without  niissiii{i  one  word 
days  afterwards;  he  could  write  with  two  hands  at  once,  the  rigrht  hand 
writinp:  a  piece  of  poetry,  the  left  a  diplomatic  paper  of  the  grreatest 
importance.  He  read  sealed  letters  without  touching  them,  while  still  in 
the  hand  of  those  who  Itrouprht  them  to  him.  lie  was  the  greatest  adept 
in  transmuting  metals,  making  gold  and  the  most  marvellous  diamonds, 
an  art.  he  said,  he  had  learned  fi-om  certain  Rrahmans  in  India,  who 
taught  liim  the  artificial  crystallisation  ("quickening")  of  pure  carlmn. 
As  our  Brother  Kenneth  ^lackenzie  has  it: — ''In  1780,  when  on  a  visit 
to  the  French  Ambassador  to  the  Hague  he  broke  to  ])ieces  with  a 
hammer  a  superb  diamond  of  his  own  manufacture,  the  counterpart  of 
which,  also  manufactured  by  himself,  he  had  just  before  sold  to  a 
jeweller  for  ooOO  louis  d'oi-"'.  lie  was  the  friend  and  confidant  of  Count 
Orloft'  in  1772  at  Vienna,  wiiom  he  had  helped  and  saved  in  St.  Peters- 
buj-g  in  17(52,  when  concerned  in  the  famous  political  conspiracies  of 
that  time;  he  also  became  intimate  with  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  he  had  numerous  enemies,  and  therefore  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  if  all  the  gossip  invented  about  him  is  now  at- 
tributed to  his  own  confessions:  e.g.,  tliat  he  was  over  five  hundred 
years  old;  also,  that  he  claimed  personal  intimacy  "with  the  Saviour 
and  his  twelve  Apostles,  and  that  he  liad  reproved  Peter  for  his  l)ad 
temper" — the  latter  clashing  somewdiat  in  point  of  time  witli  the  former, 
if  he  had  really  claimed  to  be  onhj  five  hundred  years  old.  If  he  said 
that  "he  had  been  born  in  Chaldea  and  professed  to  possess  the  secrets 
of  the  Egyptian  magicians  and  sages'',  he  may  have  .spoken  truth  with- 
out making  any  miraculous  claim.  There  are  Initiates,  and  not  the 
highest  either,  w'ho  are  placed  in  a  condition  to  remember  more  than  ono 
of  tlieir  past  lives.  But  we  have  good  reason  to  know  that  St.  Germain 
could  never  liave  claimed  "personal  intimacy"  with  the  Saviour.  How- 
ever that  may  be.  Count  St.  Germain  was  certainly  the  greatest  Ori<'ntal 
Adept  Europe  has  seen  during  the  la.st  centuries.  But  Europe  knew 
iiim  not.  Perciiance  some  may  recognise  him  at  the  next  Tcrrcur,  which 
will  afl^'ect  all  Europe  when  it  comes,  and  not  one  country  alone. 

Sthala  Maya  (Sk.).  Gross,  concrete  and — because  differentiated  -an 
illusion. 

Sthana  (Sk.).   Also  Aycuia;  the  i)lace  or  .ibode  of  a  god. 

Sthavara  (Sk.).  From  stha  to  stay  or  remain  motionless.  Tlie  term 
for  all  conscious,  sentient  objects  deprived  of  the  power  of  locomotion — 
fixed  and  rooted  like  the  trees  or  plants;  while  all  those  sentient  things, 
which  add  motion  to  a  certain  degree  of  consciousness,  are  called 
Jan(ja))i<i,  from  r/at)},  to  move,  to  go. 

Sthavirah,  or  Sth(U'ira»ika}fa  (Sk.).  One  of  the  earliest  philosoiihical 
contemplative  schools,  founded  800  n.c.  In  the  year  247  before  the 
Christian  era,  it  split  into  three  divisions:  the  Mahavihara  Va-finah 
(School  of  the  great  monasteries),  Jciavanniah,  and  Abhajiagiri  Va.s 
int'ih.     It  is  one  of  the  four  branches  of  the  Vaihhachika  School  founder] 


288  THEOSOI'lIKAL 

1»\-  Katyayaiia.  oiw  of  tin-  t,M\'at  dis('ii)lf.s  ol'  Lord  Gautama  Buddha,  tin- 
autlior  of  the  Ahh'ulhnrma  Jiuhia  I'rasthdna  Shnstra,  wlio  is  expected  to 
reappear  as  a  Buddha.  (See  " Al)hayapriri".  etc.)  All  these  schools  are 
hijridy  mystical.  I. it.,  Stt'iviranikajfa  is  translated  the  ••.•School  of  the 
< 'hainiiaii  ■'  or  "President"  (Chohan). 

Sthiratman   (Sk.).    Kternal,  supreme,  aj)plied  to  the  rnivt-rsal   Soul. 

Sthiti  iSk.),    Thr  attribute  of  pn^servation  ;  stabilit\. 

Sthula   iS/c).    DitTereiitiated  and  conditioned  matter. 

Sthiila  Sariram  (Sk.).    In  metaphysics,  the  prross  physical  body. 

Sthulopadhi  (Sk.).  A  "principle"  answerinj;  to  the  lower  triad  in 
man.  i.e.,  body,  astral  form,  and  life,  in  the  Taraka  Raja  Yopa  .system, 
which  names  only  three  cliief  principles  in  man.  Sthulopadhi  corre- 
sjjonds  to  the  jagratd.  or  waking:,  conscious  state. 

Stupa  (Sk.).  A  conical  monument,  in  India  and  Ceylon,  t-rected 
over  relics  of  Buddha.  Arhats.  or  other  {rrcat  men. 

Subhava  (Sk.).  Being:;  the  self-formingj  substance,  or  tliat  "substance 
wiiich  pives  sub.stance  to  it.self".  (See  the  Ekasloka  Shdstra  of  Najrar- 
juna.)  Explained  paradoxically,  as  "the  nature  which  has  no  nature 
of  its  own",  and  ajrain  as  that  which  is  tcith,  and  withaut,  action.  (See 
"Svablulvat",)  This  is  the  Spirit  within  Suhstancr,  the  ideal  cause  of 
the  potencies  actinpr  on  the  work  of  formative  evolution  (not  "creation" 
in  the  sen.se  usually  attached  to  the  word)  ;  which  potencies  become  in 
turn  the  real  causes.  Jn  the  words  used  in  the  Vedanta  and  Vyaya 
Philosophies:  uimitta,  the  efficient,  and  tipdddna,  the  material,  causes  are 
contained  in  Subhava  co-eternally.  Says  a  San.skrit  Sloka  :  "Worthiest 
of  a.scetics.  througrh  its  potency  [that  of  the  'efficient'  cause]  every 
created  tliingr  cotn< s  hrj  its  proper  naturi  ". 

Substance.  Theosopliists  use  the  word  in  a  dual  sense.  qualifyin<r 
substance  as  perce})tible  and  imperceptible;  and  making  a  distinction 
between  material,  psychic  and  spiritual  substances  (see  "Sudda 
Satwa").  into  ideal  (i.e.,  existing  on  higher  planes)  and  real  substance. 

Souchi  (Sk.).  A  name  of  Indra ;  also  of  the  third  son  of  Abliimanin. 
son  of  Agni ;  i.e.,  one  of  the  primordial  forty-nine  tires. 

Su-darshana  (Sk.).  The  Di.scus  of  Krishna;  a  flaminj:  weapon  tliat 
I)lays  a  great  part  in  Kri.shna's  l)iograpliies. 

Sudda  Satwa  (Sk.).  A  substance  not  subject  to  the  qualities  of 
matter;  a  luminiferous  and  (to  us)  invisible  substance,  of  which  the 
bodies  of  the  Gods  and  highest  Dhyanis  are  formed.  Philosophically. 
Suddha  Sotwn  is  a  conscious  state  of  spiritual  Ego-sliip  rather  than  any 
essence. 

Suddhodana  (Sk.).  The  King  of  Kapilavastu  :  the  father  of  Gaiitama 
Lonl   P.uddha. 

Sudha  (Sk.).  The  food  of  tlie  gods,  akin  to  <nnrit(i  t\w  substance  tiiat 
gives  immortality. 


GLOSSARY  289 

S'udra  (Skj.  The  last  of  tlie  four  castes  that  sprang  from  Brahma's 
body.    The  "servile  caste"  that  issued  from  the  foot  of  the  deity. 

Sudyumna  (Sk.).  An  epithet  of  Ila  (or  Ida),  the  offspring  of  Vaivas- 
vata  .Maim  and  his  fair  daughter  who  sprang  from  his  sacrifice  wlien 
li(^  was  h'ft  alone  after  the  Hood.  Sudyumna  was  an  androgynous  crea- 
ture, one  month  a  male  and  the  other  a  female. 

Suffism  ((h-.).  From  the  root  of  Sophia,  "Wisdom".  A  mystieal 
sect  in  Persia  something  like  the  Vedantins;  though  very  strong  in  num- 
bers, none  but  very  intelligent  men  join  it.  They  claim,  and  very  justly, 
the  possession  of  the  esoteric  philosophy  and  doctrine  of  tnu  Moham- 
medanism. The  Sutfi  (or  Sofi)  doctrine  is  a  good  deal  in  touch  with 
Theosophy.  inasmuch  as  it  preaches  one  universal  creed,  and  outward 
respect  and  tolerance  for  every  popular  exoteric  faith.  Tt  is  also  in 
touch  with  Masonry.  The  Suffis  have  four  degrees  and  four  stages  of 
initiation:  1st.  probationary,  with  a  strict  outward  observance  of  Mus- 
sulman rites,  the  hidden  meaning  of  each  ceremony  and  dogma  being 
explained  to  the  candidate;  2nd,  metaphysical  training;  3rd.  the  "Wis- 
dom" degree,  when  the  candidate  is  initiated  into  the  innermost  nature 
of  things;  and  4th,  final  Truth,  when  the  Adept  attains  divine  i)owers. 
and  comph^te  union  with  the  Universal  Deity  in   rcstaci/  or  Samadhi. 

Sugata  (Sk.).  One  of  the  Lord  Buddha's  titles,  having  many 
meanings. 

Sukhab  (Chahl.).    One  of  the-seveu  Babylonian  gods. 

Sukhavati  (Sk.).  The  Western  Paradise  of  the  uneducated  rabble. 
The  popular  notion  is  that  there  is  a  Western  Paradise  of  Amitabha. 
wiierein  good  men  and  saints  revel  in  physical  delights  until  they  are 
carried  once  more  by  Karma  into  the  circle  of  rebirth.  This  is  an 
exaggerated  and  mistaken  notion  of  Devachan. 

Suki  (Sk.).  A  daughter  of  Rishi  Kashyapn.  wife  of  Garuda,  the  king 
of  the  birds,  the  vehicle  of  Yishiui :  the  mother  of  parrots,  owls  and 
(•rows. 

Sukra  (.S7.-.J.  A  name  of  the  planet  Venus,  called  also  T'sanas.  In 
this  impersonation  Usanas  is  the  Guru  and  preceptor  of  the  l^aityas— 
the  giants  of  the  earth — in  the  Purdnas. 

Sukshma  Sarira  (Sk.).  The  dream-like,  illusive  body  akin  to 
M,ni(is(irup(i  of  "thought-body".  Tt  is  the  vesture  of  the  gods,  or  tiie 
Dhvanis  aiid  the  Devas.  Written  also  Sukshaiua  Shnrini  and  called 
S}ik.^hw(>])(i(]hi  ])y  the  Taraka  Raja  Yogis.     (Secret  Doctrine.  I.,  ir>7.^ 

Siikshmopadhi  (Sk.).  In  Taraka  Raja  Yoga  the  "principle"  contain- 
ing both  the  Iiigli(>r  and  the  lower  iNIanas  and  Kama.  It  corresponds  to 
the  Manomauei  Kosha  of  the  Vedantic  classification  and  to  the  Svapna 
state.     (See  "Svapna".) 

Su-Meru  ^s7.-. ).  The  .same  as  Meru.  the  wf.rld-mountain.  The  prefix 
Su  implies  tin-  laiulation  and  exaltation  of  the  object  or  personal  name 
which  follows  it. 


290  THKOSol'HK  AI- 

Summerland.  Tlic  namo  {jiven  by  the  Aiuciiciiii  Spiritualists  antl 
PlHiioriiriuiIists  to  tlu'  laiul  or  refjfion  iiiliahitiMl  after  dcatli  by  tlu'ir 
"Spirits".  It  is  situated,  says  Audrrw  Jacksou  Davis,  eitlior  within 
or  beyond  the  Milky  AVay.  It  is  descrilu'd  as  having'  eities  and  beautiful 
huildiMf^s.  a  Conjrress  Hall,  museuin.s,  and  libraries  for  the  instru<'tioii 
of  the  growing;  jrenerations  of  youn<?  "Spirits". 

We  are  not  told  whether  the  latter  are  subject  to  disease,  decay  and 
death;  but  unless  they  are,  the  claim  that  the  disembodied  ''Spirit"  of  a 
child  and  even  still-bt)rn  babe  «rrows  and  develops  as  an  adult  is  hardly 
consistent  with  lojjrie.  Hut  that  which  we  are  distinctly  told  is  that  in 
the  Snmmerland  Spirits  are  f^iven  in  raarria;i:e,  be^et  spiritual  (?)  chil- 
dren, and  are  even  concerned  with  j)olitics.  All  this  is  no  satire  or 
exafrjreration  of  ours,  since  the  numerous  works  b}-  Mr.  A.  Jackson 
Davis  are  there  to  prove  it,  e.g.,  the  Internnfional  Congress  of  Spirits 
by  that  author,  as  well  as  we  remember  the  title.  It  is  this  grossly 
materialistic  way  of  viewing  a  disembodied  spirit  that  has  turned  man.\ 
of  the  present  Theosophists  away  from  Spiritualism  and  its  "phil- 
osophy". The  majesty  of  death  is  thus  desecrated,  and  its  awfid  and 
.solemn  mystery  becomes  no  better  thau  a  farce. 

Sunasepha  (Sk.).  The  Puranic  "Isaac";  the  son  of  the  sage  Rishika 
who  sold  him  for  one  hundred  cows  to  King  Ambarislia,  for  a  sacrifice 
and  "burnt  ottering"  to  Varuna,  as  a  substitute  for  the  king's  son 
Rohita,  devoted  by  his  father  to  the  god.  When  already  stretched  on  the 
altar  Sunasepha  is  saved  by  Rishi  Visvamitra,  who  calls  upon  his  own 
hundred  sous  to  take  the  place  of  the  victim,  and  upon  their  refusal 
degrades  them  to  the  condition  of  Chandalas.  After  which  the  Sage 
teaches  the  victim  a  mantram  the  repetition  of  which  brings  the  gods  to 
his  rescue;  he  then  adoi)ts  Sunasepha  for  his  elder  son.  (See  Ranid- 
]/ana.)     There  are  different  versions  of  this  story. 

Sung-Ming-Shu  (Chin.).  The  Chinese  tree  of  knowleilge  and  tree 
of  life. 

Sunya  (Sk.).  Illusion,  in  the  scn.se  that  all  existence  is  but  a  phan- 
tom, a   dream,  or  a  shadow. 

Sunyata  (Sk.).  Void,  space,  nothingness.  The  name  of  our  objective 
universe  in  the  sense  of  its  unreality  and  illusiveness. 

Suoyator  (Fin.).  In  the  epic  poem  of  the  Finns,  the  Kahrala.  the 
name  for  the  primordial  Si)irit  of  Evil,  from  whose  saliva  the  serpent 
of  sin  was  born. 

Surabhi  (Sk.).  The  "cow  of  plenty";  a  fabulous  creation,  one  of  the 
fourteen  precious  things  yielded  by  the  ocean  of  milk  when  churned  by 
the  gods.     A  "cow"  which  yields  every  desire  to  its  possessor. 

Surarani  (Sk.).  A  title  of  Aditi,  the  mother  of  the  gods  or  suras. 

Suras  (Sk.).  A  general  term  for  gods,  the  same  as  drras:  the  con- 
trary to  (I suras  or  "no-gods". 


GLOSS  AEY  291 

Su-rasa  (Sk.).  A  daughter  of  Daksha,  Kashyapa's  wife,  and  tlie 
mothor  of  a  thousand  manv-headed  serpents  and  dragons. 

Surpa  (Sk.).    "Winnower." 

Surtur  (Scand.).  The  leader  of  the  fiery  sods  of  Mu.spel  in  the  Eddas. 

Surukaya  (Sk.).   One  of  the  "Seven  Buddhas",  or  Sapta  Tathdqata. 

Surya  (Sk.).  The  Sun,  worshipped  in  the  Vedas.  The  offspring  of 
Aditi  (Space),  the  mother  of  the  gods.  The  husband  of  Sanjna.  or 
spiritual  consciousness.  The  great  god  whom  Visvakarman,  his  father- 
in-law,  the  creator  of  the  gods  and  men,  and  their  "carpenter",  cruci- 
fies on  a  lathe,  and  cutting  off  the  eighth  part  of  his  rays,  deprives  his 
liead  of  its  eft'ulgenev,  ereating  round  it  a  dark  aureole.  A  mystery  of 
the  hist  initiation  and  an  allegorical  representation  of  it. 

Suryasiddhanta  (Sk.).     A  Sanskrit  treatise  on  astrononix-. 

Surya vansa  (Sk.).  The  solar  race.  A  Suryavansee  is  one  who  claims 
descent  from  the  lineage  headed  by  Ikshvaku.  Thus,  while  Rama  belonged 
to  the  Ayodhya  Dynasty  of  the  Suryavansa,  Krishna  belonged  to  the 
line  of  Yadu  of  the  lunar  race,  or  the  Chandravansa,  as  did  Gautama 
Buddha. 

Suryavarta  (Sk.).   A  degree  or  stage  of  Samadhi. 

Sushumna  (Sk.).  The  solar  ray — the  first  of  the  seven  rays.  Also 
The  name  of  a  spinal  nerve  which  connects  the  heart  with  the  Brahma- 
randra,  and  plays  a  most  important  part  in  Yoga  practices. 

Sushupti  Avastha  (Sk.).  Deep  sleep;  one  of  the  four  a.spects  of 
Pranava. 

Sutra  (Sk.).  The  second  division  of  the  sacred  writings,  addressed  to 
the  Buddhist  laity. 

Sutra  Period  (Sk.).  One  of  the  periods  into  which  Vedic  literature 
is  divided. 

Sutratman  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  thread  of  spirit";  the  immortal  Ego. 
ilie  individuality  which  incarnates  in  men  one  life  after  the  other,  and 
upon  which  are  strung,  like  beads  on  a  string,  his  countless  Pei*sonalities. 
Till'  universal  life-supi)orting  air,  Samashti  pran  :  universal  energy. 

Svabhavat  (Sk.).  Explained  by  the  Orientalists  as  "plastic  sub- 
stance", which  is  an  inadequate  definition.  Svabhavat  is  the  world- 
substance  and  stuff,  or  rather  that  which  is  behind  it — the  spirit  and 
essence  of  substance.  The  name  comes  from  Suhhava  and  is  composed 
of  three  words — ^u,  good,  perfect,  fair,  handsome;  sva,  self;  and  bhnvd. 
l)eing,  or  state  of  being.  From  it  all  nature  ])roceeds  and  into  it  all  re- 
turns at  the  end  of  the  life-cycles.  In  Esotericism  it  is  called  "Father- 
.Mother".     It  is  the  plastic  essence  of  matter. 

Svabhavika  (Sk.).  The  oldest  existing  school  of  Buddhism.  They 
assigned  the  manifestation  of  the  universe  and  physical  phenomena  to 
Svabhava  or  respective  nature  of  things.  According  to  Wilson  tlie 
Svabhavas  of  things  are  "the  inherent  properties  of  the  qualities  by 


292  THKOSnl'UlCAL 

whidi  tlifV  ai't.  as  sootliinj.',  tfi'ritic  or  stup«l'\  iii<.',  iiiid  th.-  forms 
Suurupas  are  the  distiiietioii  of  l)ip«M].  (|Uii<lrui>i(l.  lirutr.  fish,  anijual 
and  thi-  like". 

Svadha  iSh-.i.  Ohhttion:  ant'tmrii-ally  call-Mi  "tli.'  wifr  (.f  tli.'  Piti-is". 
the  Apnishwattas  ami   Harhisliads. 

Svaha  (Sk.).  A  customary  t-xclamatioii  mi'iiiiintr  ".Ma>  it  lu-  pcrp»'tu- 
atcd"'  or  rather,  "so  he  it".  When  used  at  ancestral  saeridees  <  Blira- 
mnnie),  it  means  "May  tlir  race  be  perpetuated!" 

Svapada  (Sic).     l*rotoi»lasm,  cells,  or  microscopic  ortranisms. 

Svapna  iSl:.).    A  trance  or  dreamy  condition.     ('lairvo\anoe. 

Svapna  Avastha  (Sh-.).  A  dreamin<;  state;  one  of  the  four  as|>eets 
iif  I'ri'nnira :  a  Yo<:a  i>ractice. 

Svaraj  (Six.).  The  last  or  .seventh  (synthetical)  ray  of  the  seven  solar 
rays;  the  same  as  Brahma.  These  seven  rays  are  the  entin'  gamut  of 
the  seven  occult  forces  (or  prods)  of  nature,  as  tlieir  respective  names 
well  prove.  These  are:  Sushumna  (the  ray  wliich  transmits  sunlitrht  to 
the  moon)  ;  Ilarikesha.  Visvakarman,  Visvatryarelias,  Sannadhas.  Sar- 
vfivasu.  and  Svaraj.  As  each  stands  for  one  of  the  ei'eative  pods  (tr 
Forces,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  imjiortant  were  the  functions  of  the  siin  in 
the  eyes  of  antiquity,  and  why  it  was  deified  l)y  the  profane. 

Svarga  iSk.).  A  lie;iveiil>-  abode,  the  same  as  Indra-loka:  a  j)aradise. 
It  is  tlif  same  as — 

Svar-loka  (Sh.).-  The  i)aiadise  on  Mount  ]Meni. 

Svasam  Vedana  (Sk.).  Lif..  "the  reflection  whicli  analyses  itself";  a 
synonym  of  I'aramartha. 

Svastika  (Sk.).  In  poi)uIar  notions,  it  is  tlie  Jaina  cross,  or  the  "four- 
footed"  cross  (croix  cramponnec).  In  ]\Iasonic  teachings,  "tlie  most 
ancient  Order  of  tiie  Brotherhood  of  the  ]\Iystic  Cross"  is  said  to  have 
been  founded  by  Fohi.  1.027  u.C'..  and  introduced  into  China  fifty-two 
years  later,  consisting  of  the  three  depn'cs.  In  Esoteric  Philosojiliy,  tin- 
most  mystic  and  ancient  diagram.  It  is  "tlu^  originator  of  the  fire  by 
friction,  and  of  the  'Forty-nine  Fires'."  Its  symbol  was  stamped  on 
Buddha's  heart  and  tlierefore  called  the  "Heart's  Seal''.  It  is  laid  on 
the  breasts  of  departed  Initiates  after  their  death;  and  it  is  mentioned 
with  the  greatest  respect  in  the  Rnwd>/a>ia.  Engraved  on  every  rock, 
temple  and  preliistoric  building  of  India,  and  wherever  Buddhists  hav<' 
left  their  landmai-ks;  it  is  also  found  in  China.  Tibet  and  Siam.  and 
among  the  ancient  Germanic  nations  as  Thor's  Hammer.  As  di-scribi-d 
by  Eitel  in  his  Ildnd-Jiook  of  Chinese  Buddhi.^m  :  (1)  it  is  "found  among 
Bonpas  and  Buddhists";  (2)  it  is  "one  of  the  .sixty-five  figures  of  the 
Sripada";  (3)  it  is  "the  symbol  of  esoteric  Buddhism'';  (4)  "the 
special  mark  of  all  deities  worshipped  by  the  Lotus  School  of  China''. 
Finally,  and  in  Occultism,  it  is  as  .sacred  to  us  as  th(-  Pythagorean 
Tetraktifs.  of  which  it  is  indeed  the  double  s\mbol. 


GLOSSARY  293 

Svastikasana  (SI,-.).  The  st-cond  of  tin-  four  principal  postun-s  of  tlu* 
ti«;lity-four  prescribed  in  Hatha  Yo?a   practices. 

Svayambhu  (Hk.).  A  metaphysical  and  philosophical  term,  meaning 
"the  spontaneously  self-produced''  or  the  "self-existent  being".  An 
.'pitlict  (»f  I^imIiiiiA.     SvAyambhuva  is  also  the  name  of  the  first  ^fanu. 

Svayambhu  Sunyata  (8k.).  Spontaneous  self-evolution;  s«-4f-cxistenee 
of  the  real  in  the  unreal,  i.e.,  of  the  Eternal  Hat  in  the  periodical  Asat. 

Sveta  (Hk.).    A  serpent-dragon  ;  a  son  of  Kashyapa. 

Sveta-dwipa  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  White  Island  or  Continent:  one  of  tlie 
Sai)ta-(h\i])a.  Colonel  Wilford  souglit  to  identify  it  \vitli  Great 
Britain,    but    failed. 

Sveta-lohita  (Sk.).  Tlie  name  .Siva  when  he  a]»pears  in  the  29th 
Kalpa  as  '■;!   iiKHui-culourcd  Kumara". 

Swedenborg,  Emmanuel.  Thr  gnat  Swedish  seer  and  mystic.  Ilf  was 
born  on  tlie  li9th  Jainiary.  1688,  and  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Jasper  Swed- 
berg,  bishop  of  Skara.  in  West  Gothland;  and  died  in  London,  in  Great 
Bath  Street,  Clerkenwell,  on  ^larch  29th,  1772.  Of  all  mystics,  Sweden- 
borg  has  certainly  influenced  "Theosophy"  the  most,  yet  he  left  a  far 
more  profound  impress  on  official  science.  For  while  as  an  astronomer, 
nuithematiciaii.  physiologist,  naturalist,  and  idtilosoplier  he  had  no  rival, 
in  i)s_\-ch()logy  and  metaphysics  he  was  certainly  beliind  his  time.  When 
forty-six  years  of  age,  he  became  a  "Theosophist",  and  a  "seer";  but. 
although  his  life  had  been  at  all  times  blameless  and  respectable,  lie  was 
never  a  true  philanthropist  or  an  ascetic.  His  clairvoyant  powers, 
however,  were  very  remarkable ;  but  they  did  not  g'o  beyond  this  plane 
of  matter;  all  that  he  says  of  subjective  worlds  and  spiritual  beings  is 
evidently  far  more  the  outcome  of  his  exuberant  fancy,  than  of  his 
spiritual  insight.  He  left  behind  him  numerous  works,  which  are  sadly 
misinterpreted  by  his  followers. 

Sylphs.    The  Kosicrucian  name  for  the  elements  of  the  air. 

Symbolism.  The  pictorial  expression  of  an  idea  or  a  thought. 
Primordial  irriting  had  at  first  no  characters,  but  a  symbol  generally 
stood  for  a  whole  phrase  or  sentence.  A  symbol  is  thus  a  recorded 
parable,  and  a  paral)le  a  spoken  symbol.  The  Chinese  written  language 
is  nothing  nu)re  than  symbolical  wi-iting,  each  of  its  several  thousand 
letters  being  a  symbol. 

Syzygy  (Gr.).  A  Gnostic  term,  nu-aning  a  pair  or  eouple,  one  active, 
tlie  otlier  passive.     Used  especially  of  villous. 


294  THKUSOl'HIt'AL 


T. 


T. 


-The  twciitit'tli  letter  of  tlic  al|)liabft.  Jii  tlif  Latin  Alplialx't  its 
value  was  160,  and,  with  a  dash  over  it  (T)  siprnified  KiO.OOO.  It  is 
tilt'  last  letter  of  the  Ilehrcw  alphabet,  the  Ton  whose  equivalents  are  T. 
Til.  and  numerical  value  400.  Its  synd)ols  are  as  a  tau.  a  cross  +• 
the  foundation  fi'ainework  of  construction;  and  as  a  tith  (T),  the  ninth 
letter,  a  snake  and  tlie  basket  of  the  Eleusinian  mysteries. 

Taaroa  (Tnh.).    The  creative  power  and  chief  god  of  Ww  Tahitians. 

Tab-nooth  (Jhh.).    F^'orm ;  a  Kabbalistic  term. 

Tad-aikya  (Sk.).  "Oneness";  identification  or  unity  with  the  Abso- 
lute, The  universal,  unknowable  Essence  (Parabrahm)  has  no  name 
in  the  Vcdas  but  is  referred  to  generally  as  Tad,  "That". 

Tafne  (Eq.).  A  goddess;  daughter  of  the  sun,  represented  with  the 
head  of  a  lioness. 

Tahmurath  (Fcrs.).  The  Iranian  Adam,  whose  .steed  was  Simorgh 
Anke,  th(^  gi'ifhn-jihoenix  or  infinite  cycle.  A  repetition  or  reminiscence 
of  \'islimi  and  Garuda. 

Tahor  (Hrb.).  Lit.,  MiokIhs,  the  woi-hl ;  a  name  given  to  the  Deity, 
whose  identification  indicates  a  belief  in  Pantheism. 

Taht  Esmun  (Eg.).    The  Egyptian  Adam;  the  first  human  ancestor. 

Taijasi  (Sk.).  The  radiant,  ilaming — from  Trjns  "fire";  used  some- 
times to  designate  the  Manasri-rfipa,  the  "thought-body",  and  also  the 
stars. 

Tairyagyonya  (Sk.).  The  fifth  creation,  or  rather  the  fifth  .stage  of 
creation,  that  of  the  lower  animals,  reptiles,  etc.     (See  "Tiryaksrotas".) 

Taittriya  (Sk.).    A  Brdhmana  of  the  Yajnr  Veda. 

Talapoin  (Siam.).  A  Buddhist  monk  and  ascetic  in  Siam;  some  of 
this.-  ascetics  are  credited  with  great  magic  powers. 

Talisman.  From  the  Arabic  iilism  or  iilsam,  a  "magic  image".  An 
object,  whether  in  stone,  metal,  or  sacred  wood ;  often  a  piece  of  parch- 
ment filled  with  characters  and  images  traced  under  certain  planetary 
influences  in  magical  formula?,  given  by  one  ver.sed  in  occult  sciences 
to  one  unversed,  either  with  the  object  of  preserving  him  from  evil,  or 
for  the  accomplishment  of  certain  desires.  The  greatest  virtue  and 
efficacy  of  the  talisman,  however,  resides  in  the  faith  of  its  pos.sessor: 
not  because  of  the  credulity  of  the  latter,  or  that  it  pos.se.sses  no  virtue, 
but  because  faith  is  a  quality  endowed  with  a  most  potrnt  ereative 
power;  and  therefore — unconsciously  to  the  believer — intensifies  a  hun- 
dredfold the  power  originally  imparted  to  the  tali.sman  by  its  maker. 


GLOSSARY  295 

Talmidai  Hakhameem  (Iltb.).  A  class  of  mystics  and  Kabbalists 
whom  the  Zohar  calls  "Disciples  of  the  Wise"',  and  who  were  Sarisim 
or  voluntary  (iinuchs,  becoming  such  for  spiritual  motives.  (See  Mat- 
th(  w  xix..  11-12.  a  pas.sage  implying:  the  laudation  of  such  an  act.) 

Talmud  (Ilrh.).  Rabbinic  Commentaries  on  the  Jewish  faith.  It  is 
composed  of  two  parts,  the  older  Mishuah,  and  the  more  modern  Grmara. 
Hebrews,  who  call  the  Pentateuch  the  wrinen  law,  call  the  Talmud 
the  unwritten  or  oral  law.     [w.w.w.] 

The  Talmud  contains  the  civil  and  canonical  laws  of  the  Jews,  who 
claim  a  great  sanctity  for  it.  For,  save  the  above-stated  difference 
between  the  Pentateuch  and  the  Talmud,  the  former,  they  say,  can  claim 
no  priority  over  the  latter  as  both  were  received  simultaneously  by  Moses 
on  Mount  Sinai  fj-oin  Jehovah,  who  wrote  the  one  and  ddiverrd  the  other 
orally. 

Tamala  Pattra  (Sk.).  Stainless,  pure,  sage-like.  Also  the  name  of  a 
leaf  of  the  Laurus  Cassia,  a  tree  regarded  as  having  various  very  occult 
and  magical  properties. 

Tamarisk,  or  Erica.  A  sacred  tree  in  Egypt  of  great  occult  virtues. 
Many  of  the  temples  were  surrounded  with  such  trees,  pre-eminently  one 
at  Phila'.  sacred  among  the  sacred,  as  the  body  of  Osiris  was  supposed 
to  lie  buried  under  it. 

Tamas  (SI-.).  The  quality  of  darkness,  "foulness"  and  inertia;  also 
of  ignorance,  as  matter  is  blind.  A  term  used  in  metaphysical  phil- 
osophy.    It  is  the  lowest  of  the  three  gunas  or  fundamental  qualities. 

Tammuz  (Syr.).  A  Syrian  deity  worshipped  by  idolatrous  Hebrews 
as  well  as  by  Syrians.  The  women  of  Isra?l  held  annual  lamentations 
over  Adonis  (that  beautiful  youth  being  identical  with  Tararauz). 
The  feast  held  in  his  honour  was  solstitial,  and  began  with  the  new 
moon,  in  the  month  of  Tammuz  (July},  taking  place  chiefly  at  Byblos  in 
Phoenicia ;  but  it  was  also  celel)rated  as  late  as  the  fourth  century  of  our 
era  at  Betlilehem,  as  we  find  St.  Jerome  writing  (Epistles  p.  49)  his 
lamentations  in  these  words:  "Over  Bethlehem,  the  grove  of  Tammuz. 
that  is  of  Adonis,  was  casting  its  shadow!  And  in  the  grotto  where 
formerly  the  infant  Je-sus  cried,  the  lover  of  Venus  was  being  mourned." 
Indeed,  in  the  ^lysteries  of  Taminu/.  or  Adonis  a  whole  week  was  spent 
in  lamentations  and  mourning.  Tlie  funereal  processions  were  succeeded 
by  a  fast,  and  later  by  rejoicings;  for  after  tlie  fast  Adonis-Tammuz  was 
regarded  as  raised  from  the  dead,  and  wild  orgies  of  joy,  of  eating  and 
drinking,  as  now  in  Easter  week,  went  on  uninterruptedly  for  several 
days. 

Tamra-Parna  f.S'A.;.    Ceylon,  the  ancient  Taprobana. 

Tamti  (Chald.).  A  goddess,  the  same  as  Belita.  Tamti-Belita  is  the 
personified  Sea.  the  mother  of  the  Cit}/  of  Ercch,  the  Chaldean 
Necropolis.     Astronomically,  Tamti  is  Astoreth  or  Istar,  Venus. 


29G  THEOSOl'Hh  AL 

Tanaim  illih.i.  .Kuisli  Initiates,  very  Ifanicd  Ki»l)l)alists  in  aiR-icnt 
tiiiu's.  Tlu'  Talmud  contains  sninli\v  lt},'cn<]s  about  tluiM  and  drives  tli- 
c'liii'f  nanit'S  anionp:  tlicm. 

Tanga-Tango  (I'lnir.).  An  idol  much  roveronced  l)y  tin-  Piruvians. 
It  is  the  syndiol  of  tlif  Triiau  or  tlif  Triinty,  "One  in  tlircc,  and  three 
in  One",  and  existed  Ix-foi'e  our  era. 

Tanha  (I'dli).  The  tiiirst  for  life.  Desire  to  live  and  elin*rin{?  to  life 
on  this  earth.  This  elin<iin<i:  is  that  which  causes  rebirth  or  re- 
iru'arnation. 

Tanjur  (Tib.).  A  collection  of  Buddhi.st  works  translatetl  from  the 
Sanski-it  into  Til)etan  and  ]\Ion<jolian.  It  is  the  more  voluminous  canon. 
•  •ompi'isin^'  1*12")  larjre  volumes  on  miseelhuK^oiis  subjects.  The  Kanjur, 
whicii  contains  the  commandments  oi-  the  "Word  of  the  Buddlia"',  has 
oidy  108  volumes. 

Tanmatras  (Sh.).  The  types  or  rutiinients  of  the  five  Elements:  the 
subfile  es.seiice  of  these,  devoid  of  all  qualities  and  identical  with  the 
properties  of  the  five  basic  Element.s — eartli,  water,  lire,  air  and  ether; 
i.e.,  the  tanniairas  are,  in  one  of  their  aspects,  smell,  taste,  touch,  sight, 
and  hearing. 

Tantra  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "rule  or  ritual".  Certain  mystical  and  magical 
works,  who.se  chief  peculiarity  is  the  worship  of  the  female  power, 
personified  in  Sakti.  Devi  or  Durga  (KTili,  Siva's  wife)  is  the  special 
energy  connected  with  .sexual  rites  and  magical  powers — the  worst  form 
of  black  magic  or  sorcery. 

Tantrika  (Sk.).  ('eremonies  connected  with  the  above  worship. 
Sakti  having  a  two-fold  nature,  white  and  black,  good  and  bad,  the 
Saktas  are  divided  into  two  cla.sses,  the  Dak.shinacharis  and  Vamficharis. 
or  the  right-hand  and  the  left-hand  Saktas,  i.e.,  "white"  and  "black" 
magicians.     The  worsiiip  of  the  latter  is  most  licentious  and  immoral. 

Tao  (Chin.).    The  name  of  the  philosophy  of  Lao-tze. 

Taoer  (Eg.).  The  female  T.^•phon,  the  hippopotamus,  called  also 
Tor-ur,  Ta-op-oer,  etc.;  she  is  the  Thoucris  of  the  Greeks.  This  wife  of 
Typhon  was  represented  as  a  monstrous  hippopotamus,  sitting  on  her 
hind  legs  with  a  knife  in  one  hand  and  the  sacred  knot  in  the  other  (the 
pdsa  of  Siva).  Her  back  was  covered  with  the  scales  of  a  crocodile, 
and  she  had  a  crocodile's  tail.  Slie  is  also  called  Teh,  whence  the  name 
of  Typhon  is  also,  sometimes,  'Tehh.  On  a  monument  of  the  sixth 
dynasty  .she  is  called  "the  nurse  of  the  gods".  She  was  feared  in  Egypt 
even  more  than  Typhon.     (See  "Typhon".) 

Tao-teh-king  (Chin.).  Lit.,  "The  Book  of  the  Perfectibility  of  Na- 
ture" writt.n  by  the  great  philoso]iher  Lao-tze.  It  is  a  kind  of  cos- 
mogony which  contains  all  the  fundamental  tenets  of  Esoteric  Cosmo- 
genesis.  Tlius  he  says  that  in  the  beginning  there  was  nauglit  but 
limitless  and  boundless  Space.  All  that  lives  and  is,  was  born  in  it, 
from    the    "Principle    which    exists   by    Itself,    developing    Itself    from 


GLOSSARY  297 

Itself",  i.e.,  SwaUavat.  As  its  name  is  unknown  and  its  essence  is 
unfathomable,  philosopliers  have  calh-d  it  Too  (Anima  Mundi),  the 
uncreate  unborn  and  eternal  enern^y  of  nature,  manifesting  periodically. 
Nature  as  well  as  man  when  it  reaches  purity  will  reach  rest,  and  then 
all  become  one  with  Tao,  which  is  the  source  of  all  bliss  and  felicity. 
As  in  the  Hindu  and  Buddhistic  philosophies,  such  purity  and  bliss 
and  immortality  can  onlv  be  reached  through  the  exercise  of  virtue 
and  perfect  quietude  of 'our  worldly  spirit;  the  human  mind  has  to 
control  and  finally  subdue  and  even  crush  the  turbulent  action  of  man's 
physical  nature  ;  and  the  sooner  he  reaches  the  required  degree  of  moral 
purification,  the  happier  he  will  feel.  (See  Annalcs  (In  Musrc  Guimct. 
Vols.  XI.  and  XII.;  Etudes  sur  la  Religion  (Irs  Cliinois,  by  Dr.  Groot.) 
As  the  famous  Sinologist,  Pauthier.  remarkr'd :  "Human  Wisdom  can 
never  use  language  more  holy  and  profound". 

Tapas  (Sk.).  "Abstraction",  "meditation".  "To  perform  tapas"  is 
to  sit  for  eontemi)lation.     Therefore  ascetics  are  often  called  Tapasas. 

Tapasa-taru  (Sk.).  The  Sesamiim  OricntaU,  a  tree  very  sacred  among 
the  ancient  ascetics  of  China  and  Tibet. 

Tapasvi  (Sk.).  Ascetics  and  anchorites  of  every  religion,  whether 
Buddhist,  Brahman,  or  Taoist. 

Taphos  (Gr.).  Tomb,  the  sarcophagus  placed  in  the  Adytum  and 
used  for  purposes  of  initiation. 

Tapo-loka  (IS^k.).  The  domain  of  the  fire-devas  named  Vairajas.  It 
is  known  as  the  "world  of  the  seven  sages",  and  also  "the  realm  of 
penance".  One  of  the  Shashta-loka  (six  worlds)  above  our  own.  which 
is  the  seventh. 

Tara  (Sk.).  The  wife  of  Brihaspati  (Jupiter),  carried  away  by  King 
Soma,  the  Moon,  an  act  whieh  led  to  the  Avar  of  the  Gods  with  the 
Asuras.  Tara  personifies  mystic  knowledge  as  opposed  to  ritualistic 
faith.    She  is  the  mother  (by  Soma)  of  Buddha,  "Wisdom". 

Taraka  (Sk.).  Described  as  a  Danava  or  Daitya,  i.e.,  a  "Giant- 
Demon",  whose  sui)erhuman  austerities  as  a  yogi  made  the  gods  tremble 
for  their  power  and  supremacy.  Said  to  have  been  killed  by  Karttikeya. 
(See  Scent  Doctrine,  II.,  382.) 
Tarakamaya  (Sk.).  The  first  war  in  Heaven  through  Tara. 
Taraka  Raja  Yoga  (Sk.).  One  of  the  Brahminical  Yoga  systems  for 
the  development  of  purely  spiritual  powers  and' knowledge  which  lead  to 
Nirvana. 

Targum  (Chald.).  Lit.,  "Interpretation",  from  the  root  targem,  to 
interpret.  Paraphrase  of  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Some  of  the  Targums 
are  verv  mvstical.  the  Aramaic  (or  Targumatic)  language  being  used 
all  through  "tlie  Zohar  and  other  Kabbalistic  works.  To  distingui.sh  this 
language  from  tiie  Hebrew,  called  the  "face"  of  the  sacred  tongue,  it  is 
referred  to  as  ahorayim,  the  "back  part",  the  real  meaning  of  which 
must  be  read  between  the  lines,  according  to  certain  methods  given  to 


298  THKosol'JlirAi, 

students,  'riif  Latin  wm-d  ti  tujuin.  "Iiack"'.  is  (l.iivtd  from  tlii-  llrhnw 
(ti*  ratliti"  Aratnaic  and  Clialdt-an  tiir;iiini.  Tlie  Bonk  (»f  Dat\'ul  ht-jriiis 
in  Hchnw.  an<l  is  fully  fonipivlit-nsihlr  till  chap.  ii..  v.  4,  when  tin- 
( "haldt't's  (tlit>  Magician-Initiates')  hr^'iu  spcakiiifr  to  the  kinj;  in  Aramaic 
-not  in  Syriac.  as  mistranslated  in  the  I'rotestant  Hihle.  Daniel  speaks 
in  Ilchrew  before  interiu'etinfr  the  kinpr's  dream  to  him;  biit  explains 
The  dream  itself  fchap.  vii.)  in  Aranuiic.  "So  in  Ezra  iv..  v.  and  vi.. 
the  words  of  the  kinfjs  bein};  there  literally  (juoted,  all  matters  con- 
nected therewith  are  in  Aramaic."  says  Isaac  Myer  in  his  QahhaUih. 
The  Tarjrumim  are  of  difl'ercnt  a^es,  the  latest  already  showinjr  si;rns  of 
the  Massoretic  or  vowel-system,  which  made  them  still  more  full  of 
intentional  blinds.  The  precejjt  of  the  Pirkt  Ahoth  (c.  i..  §  1).  "Make  a 
fence  to  the  Thorah*'  (law),  has  indeed  been  faithfully  followed  in  the 
Hible  as  in  the  Tarjrumim;  and  wise  is  he  who  woid<l  interpret  either 
correctly,  unless  he  is  an  old  Occultist-Kabbalist. 

Tashilhumpa  (Tih.).  The  <rreat  centre  of  monasteries  and  coUepes. 
thi-er  houj-s"  walk  fi'om  Tchi«rad/e.  the  residence  of  the  Teshu  Lama 
for  details  of  whom  see  "Panchen  Kind)oe]i<"".  It  was  built  in  1445  by 
the  ordej"  of  Tson-kha-pa. 

Tassissudun  (Tih.).  J. it.,  "the  holy  city  of  the  doctrine" :  inhab- 
ited, nevertheless,  by  more  Du<rpas  than  Si-ints.  It  is  the  residential 
i-apital  in  Bhutan  of  the  ecclesiastical  Head  of  the  Bhon.s — the  Dharraa 
Raja.  The  latter  thougrh  professedly  a  Northern  Buddhist,  is  simply  a 
worshipper  of  the  old  demon-jrods  of  the  aborig;ines,  the  nature-sprites 
or  elementals.  worshipped  in  the  land  befon.'  the  introduction  of  Bud 
dhism.  All  stranjjers  are  prevented  from  penetratinj?  into  p]astern  or 
Great  Tibet,  and  the  few  scholars  who  venture  on  their  travels  into 
those  forbidden  rejrions,  are  ])ermitted  to  penetrate  no  further  than  the 
border-lands  of  the  land  of  Bod.  They  journey  about  Bhutan.  Sikkhim. 
and  elsewhere  on  the  frontiers  of  the  country,  but  can  learn  or  know 
nothinjr  of  true  Tibet;  hence,  nothing  of  the  true  Northern  Buddhism 
or  Lamaism  of  Tsonfr-klia-pa.  And  yet,  while  describing:  no  more  than 
the  rites  and  beliefs  of  the  Bhons  and  the  travclliiifr  Shamans,  they 
assure  the  world  they  are  {jivinpr  it  the  pure  Xortlici-n  Buddhism,  and 
comment  on  its  preat  fall  from  its  pristint'  purity' 

Tat  (E(j.).  An  E<ryj)tian  s_\inbol :  an  upriglit  round  standard  taper- 
ing toward  the  summit,  with  four  cross-pieces  placed  on  the  top.  It 
was  used  as  an  amidet.  The  top  part  is  a  regular  equilateral  cross. 
This,  on  its  phallic  basis,  represented  the  two  principles  of  creation,  the 
male  and  the  female,  and  related  to  nature  and  cosmos;  but  when  the 
tnt  stood  by  itself,  crowned  with  the  atf  (or  atcf),  the  triple  crown  of 
Horus — two  feathers  with  tlie  uraeus  in  front — it  represented  the  sep- 
tntary  man;  the  cross,  or  the  two  cross-pieces,  standing  for  the  lower 
(|uaternary,  and  the  atf  for  the  higher  triad.  As  Dr.  Birch  well  re- 
marks: "The  four  horizontal  bars  .  .  .  represent  the  four  founda 
tions  of  all  things,  the  tat  ))eing  an  emblem  of  stability "". 


GLOSSARY  299 

Tathagata  (Sk.).  "Oi.r  who  is  like  the  coming";  he  who  is.  like  his 
predecessors  (the  Buddhas)  and  successors,  the  commpr  future  Buddha 
or  World-Saviour.  One  of  the  titles  of  Gautama  Buddluu  and  the 
highest  epitliet,  since  the  first  and  the  la.'it  Buddhas  were  the  direct 
inriiiediatf  avatars  of  the  One  Deity. 

Tathagatagupta  (Sk.).  Secret  or  concealed  Tathagata,  or  the  "guar- 
dian" protecting  Buddhas:  used  of  the  Nirmanakayas. 

Tattwa  (Sk.)  Eternallv  existing  "That";  also,  the  different  prin- 
ciples in  Nature,  in  their  occult  meaning.  Tattwa  Samasa  is  a  work  of 
Sankliya  philosi.phy  attributed  to  Kapila  himself. 

Also  the  abstract  principles  of  existence  cr  categories,  physical  and 
metaphvsical.  The  subtle  elements— five  exoterically,  seven  in  esoteric 
philosopliv— which  are  correlative  to  the  five  and  the  seven  senses  on 
tlic  physical  plane ;  the  last  two  senses  are  as  yet  latent  in  man.  but  will 
be  developed  in  the  tw^o  last  root-races. 

Tau  fUch  )  That  which  has  now  becom.-  the  square  Hebrew  letten 
tail,  but  was  ages  before  the  invention  of  the  Jewish  alpliabet.  the 
Et'vptian  handled  cross,  the  crux  ansata  of  the  Latins,  and  identical  witii 
the'  Egvptian  ankh.  This  mark  belonged  exclusively,  and  still  belongs,  to 
the  Adepts  of  every  country.  As  Kenneth  R.  F.  .Mackenzie  shows.  It 
was  a  svmbol  of  salvation  and  consecration,  and  as  such  has  been 
adopted 'as  a  :\Iasonic  svmbol  in  the  Royal  Arch  Degree".  It  is  also 
called  the  astronomical  cross,  and  was  used  by  the  ancient  :\rexicans— 
as  its  presence  on  one  of  the  palaces  at  Palenque  shows^-as  %yell  as  by 
the  Hindus,  who  placed  the  tau  as  a  mark  on  the  brows  of  their  Lhelas. 

Taurus  (Lai.).  A  most  mysterious  constellation  of  the  Zodiac,  one 
connected  with  all  the  "First-born"  solar  gods.  Taurus  is  under  the 
asterisk  A,  which  is  its  figure  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  that  of^^l/^p/i; 
and  tlierefore  that  constellation  is  called  the  "One  ,  the  '  First  .  atter 
the  said  letter.  Hence,  tlie  "First-born",  to  all  of  whom  it  was  made 
sacred  The  Bull  is  the  svmbol  of  force  and  procreative  power— the 
Logos;  hence,  also,  the  horns  on  the  head  of  Isis.  the  female  aspect  of 
Osiris 'and  Horns.  Ancient  mystics  saw  the  ansated  cross,  in  the  horns 
of  Taurus  (the  upper  portion  of  the  Hebrew  Alcph)  pushing  away  thr 
Drao-on  and  Christians  connected  the  sign  and  constellation  with  Christ. 
St  Aun-'ustine  calls  it  "the  great  City  of  God",  and  the  Egyptians  called 
it  the  "interpreter  of  tlie  divine  voice",  the  Apis-Pans  of  Hermonthis. 
(See  "Zodiac".) 

Taygete  (Gr.).    One  of  the  seven  daughters  of  Atla.s— the  tlnrd.  who 

became  later  one  of  the  Pleiades.     These  seven  daughters  are  said  to 

typify  the  seven  sub-races  of  tlie  fourth  root-race,  that  of  the  Atlanteans. 

[The  Sanskrit  words  commencing  wifh  the  letters  Teh  are.  owivff  t<> 

faulty  transliteration,  misplaced  and  should  come  under  C] 

Tciiaitya  (Sk.).  Anv  locality  made  sacred  through  some  event  in  the 
life  of  Buddha;  a  term  signifying  the  same  relation  to  gods,  and  any 
kind  of  place  or  object  of  worship. 


;>(j(j  TlIKoSOrHUAL 

Tchakchur  (Sk.).  T\\o  first  Vidjm'ina  ((j.i\).  Lit.,  "tli.-  ryv".  nu-an- 
iiitr  tlif  iariilty  of  si^ht,  or  rather,  an  occult  perception  of  spiritual  and 
subjective    realities    (Chnkshur) . 

Tchakra,  or  Chdhra  (Sk.).  A  spell.  The  disk  of  Vishnu,  wliich 
ser\.<i  a->  a  \Vea|»on  ;  the  wheel  of  the  Zodiac,  also  the  wheel  of  time. 
«'te.  With  Vishnu,  it  was  a  .symbol  of  divine  authority.  One  of  tin- 
sixty-five  fifjures  of  the  Sripada,  or  the  mystic  foot -print  of  Buddha 
which  contains  that  number  of  symbolical  fijjures.  The  Tchakra  is  used 
in  nitsrnerie  phenomena  and  other  abnormal  practices. 

Tchandalas,  or  llihtindCilas  (Sk.).  Outcasts,  or  people  without  caste,  a 
name  now  txiven  to  all  the  lower  elas.ses  of  the  Hindus:  but  in  antiquity 
it  was  applied  to  a  certain  class  of  men.  who.  havin<;  ff)rfeited  their 
rifrht  to  any  of  the  four  caste;*— Brahmans.  Kshatriyas.  Vai.syas  and 
Sudras — were  expelled  from  cities  and  soujrht  refuse  in  the  forests. 
Then  they  became  "bricklayers",  until  finally  expelled  they  left  the 
country,  some  4. ()()()  years  before  our  era.  Some  .see  in  them  the  an- 
cestors of  the  eailier  Jews,  whose  tribes  be*i:an  with  A-brahm  or  "Xo- 
Brahm".  To  this  day  it  is  the  class  most  despised  by  the  Brahmins 
in   India. 

Tchandrag^ipta,  or  Chandra^jupta  (Sk.).  The  son  of  Nanda,  the  first 
Buddhist  Kiii<r  of  the  ^lorya  Dynasty,  the  rrrandfatlur  of  Kin?  Asoka. 
"the  beloved  of  the  g:ods"  (Pii/adasi). 

Tchatur  Maharaja  (Sk.).  The  "four  kinjrs'".  Devas  who  guard  the 
ffiui-  1 1  ua  It.  IS  of  tile  universe,  and  are  connected  with  Karma. 

Tcherno-Bog  Slavon.).  Lit.,  "black  god";  the  chief  deity  of  the 
aiifiiiit   Sla\i)iiiari  Jiations. 

Tchertchen.  ,\ii  oasis  in  Central  Asia,  situated  about  4,000  feet  above 
the  river  Tchertchen  Darya;  the  very  hot-bed  and  cemre  of  ancient 
civilization,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  numberless  ruins,  above  and 
below  ground,  of  cities,  towns,  and'  burial-places  of  every  description. 
As  the  late  Colonel  Prjevalski  reported,  the  oasis  is  inhabited  by  som«' 
3.000  people  "repi'esenting  the  relics  of  about  a  hundred  nations  and 
races  now  extinct,  the  ver\'  names  of  which  are  at  present  unknown 
to  ethnolotrists' ". 

Tchhanda  Riddhi  Pada  (Sk.).  "Tiie  step  of  desire"',  a  term  used 
in  Haja  Yoga.  It  is  the  final  renunciation  of  all  desire  as  a  sine  qua  non 
condition  of  ])lu'nomenal  ]>owers.  and  entrance  on  the  direct  path  of 
Nirvana. 

Tchikitsa  Vidya  Shastra  (Sk.).  A  treatise  on  occult  medicine,  which 
contains  a  number  of  "magic"  prescriptions.  It  is  one  of  the  Pancha 
Viihia  Shiifitras  or  Scrijitures. 

Tchina  (Sk.).  The  name  of  Ciiina  in  Buddhist  works,  the  land  being 
-so  called  since  the  Tsin  dynasty,  which  was  established  in  ttie  year  349 
b»'fore  our  era. 

Tchitta   Riddhi   Pada    (Sk.).    "The   stei)   of   memory.*"     The   third 


GLOSSARY  301 

coiiditiou  of  tliL'  mystic  series  wliicli  U-ads  to  the  acquin-nu-nt  of  adept- 
ship ;  i.e.,  thr  rt-nnnciation  of  physical  memory,  and  of  all  thou<]:hts  con- 
nected with  worldly  or  personal  events  in  one's  life — benefits,  personal 
pleasures  or  associations.  Physical  memory  has  to  l)e  sacrificed,  and 
recalled  bv  inll  poivcr  only  when  absolutely  needed.  The  Eiddhi  Pada. 
lit.,  the  four  "Steps  to  Ri'ddhi"'.  are  the  four  modes  of  controlling  and 
finally  of  annihilatinfr  desire,  memory,  and  finally  meditation  itself— 
so  far  as  thes.'  are  connected  witli  any  effort  of  the  physical  brain— 
int'ditatioii  th.'n  becomrs  al)S(»lutely  spirifual. 

Tchitta  Smriti  Upasthana  (Sk.).  One  of  the  four  aims  of  Smriti 
[Jpasihdna,  i.e.,  the  keepinjr  ever  in  mind  the  transitory  character  of 
man's  life,  and  the  inces.sant  revolution  of  the  wheel  of  exi.stence. 

Tebah  (II(h.).  Nature:  which  mystically  and  esoterically  is  the 
.same  as  its  ]>ersonifie(l  Elohim.  the  inimerieal  value  of  both  words — 
Tt'baii  and  Elohim   (or  Aleim)   being  the  same,  namely  86. 

Tefnant  (Eg.).  One  of  the  three  deities  who  inhabit  "the  land  of 
the  rebirth  of  gods''  and  good  men.  i.e.,  Aamroo  (Devachan).  The  three 
deities  are  Seheo.  Tefnant.  and  Seb. 

Telugu.    One  of  tlie  Dravidian  languages  spoken  in  Southern  India. 
Temura   did).).    Lit.,  "Ciiange".     The  title  of  one  division  of  the 
l)rai-tieal    Kahahih,   treating  of  the   analogies  between   words,   the   rela- 
tionship of  which  is  indicated  by  certain  changes  in  position  of  the  let- 
ters, or  changes  l)y  substituting  one  letter  for  another. 

Ten  Pythagorean  "Virtues.  Virtues  of  Initiation,  &c..  necessary  before 
admission.  (See  "Pythagoras"."^  They  are  identical  with  those  pre- 
seril)ed  1)\    -Manu.  and  the  Buddhist  Paramitas  of  Perfection. 

Teraphim  (Ilrb.).  Tlie  same  as  Seraphira,  or  the  Kabeiri  Gods: 
seri)eiit-images.  The  firet  Teraphim,  aceordinsr  to  legend,  were  received 
hy  Dardanus  as  a  dowry,  and  brought  by  liim  to  Samothrace  and  Troy. 
The  idol-oraeles  of  the'  ancient  Jews.  Rebecca  stole  them  from  her 
father  Laban. 

Teratology.  A  Greek  name  coined  by  GeofTroi  St.  Ililaire  to  denote 
the  [)?'.• -natal  foiMnation  of  monsters,  both  human  and  animal. 

Tetragrammatoir.  The  four-lettered  name  of  God.  its  Greek  title: 
the  four  letters  are  in  IL'brew  "yod.  he.  vau.  hC-" .  or  in  English  capitals. 
IIIVII.  The  true  ancient  pronunciation  is  now  unknown  ;  the  sincere 
Hebrew  con.sidered  this  name  too  sacred  for  speech,  and  in  reading  tlie 
.sacred  writings  he  s\ibstituted  the  title  "Adonai".  meaning  Lord.  In 
the  Knhhidah.  1  is  as.sociated  with  Chokmah.  II  with  Binah.  V  with 
Tipheretli.  and  11  final  with  Malkuth.  Ciiristians  in  general  call  IHVII 
Jehovah,  and  many  modern  liihlieal  .scholars  write  it  Yahvah.  In  the 
Secrit  Dortrittt,  tlie  name  Jehovah  is  assigned  to  Sephira  Binah  alone, 
but  this  attribution  is  not  recognised  by  the  Kosierucian  .school  of  Kab- 
balists,  nor  by  Mathers  in  his  translation  of  Knorr  Von  Rosenroth's 
Kahhalnh  Drnudata:  certain  Kabbalistie  authorities  have  referred  Binah 


302  THEOSOl'IirCAL 

alone  to  JIIVII.  hut  only  in  reference  to  tlie  Jehovah  of  the  exoteric 
Judaism.  The  111 VII  of  the  Kabbalah  has  but  a  faint  rescnihlance  to 
the  God  of  the  Old  Testament,      [w.w.w.] 

The  Kabbalah  of  Knorr  von  Roscnroth  is  no  authority  to  the  Eastern 
Kahbalists;  l)ceause  it  is  wi-li  known  that  in  wi'itinp;  his  Kabbalah 
Dcnudata  he  followed  the  modern  rather  than  the  anci(>nt  (Chaldean) 
MSS. ;  and  it  is  equally  well  known  that  those  MSS.  and  writings  of  the 
Zohar  that  are  classfiied  as  "ancient",  mention,  and  some  even  use,  the 
Hebrew  vowel  or  Massoretic  points.  This  alone  would  make  these  would- 
be  Zoharic  books  spurious,  as  there  are  no  direct  traces  of  the  Massorah 
scheme  before  the  tenth  century  of  our  era,  nor  any  remote  trace  of  it 
before  the  seventh.     (See  "Tetraktys".) 

Tetraktys  (dr.).  or  the  Tdrad.  The  sacred  "Four"  by  which  the 
Pythagoreans  swore,  this  being-  their  most  binding  oath.  It  has  a  very 
mystic  and  varied  signitication,  being  the  same  as  the  Tetragrammaton. 
First  of  all  it  is  I'^nity.  or  the  "One"  under  four  different  aspects;  then 
it  is  the  fundamental  number  Four,  the  Tetrad  containing  the  Decad,  or 
Ten,  the  number  of  perfection ;  finally  it  signifies  the  primeval  Triad 
(or  Triangle)  merged  in  the  divine  Monad.  Kircher,  the  learned  Kab- 
balist-Jesuit,  in  his  (Edipns  yEgypticus  (II.,  p.  267),  gives  the  Ineffable 
Name  IHVII — one  of  the  Kabbalistic  formulae  of  the  72  names — arranged 
in  the  shape  of  the  Pythagorean  Tetrad.  Mr.  I.  Myer  gives  it  in  this 
wise : 

1  1       =         10 

2  The  Ineffable  H^       =        15 
...                 3          Name  thus             IH^       =         21 

....         4  mn^    =     26 


10  72 


He  also  show^s  that  "the  sacred  Tetrad  of  the  Pythagoreans  appears  to 
have  been  known  to  the  ancient  Chinese".  As  explained  in  Isis  Unveiled 
(I,  xvi.)  :  The  mystic  Decad,  the  resultant  of  the  Tetraktys,  or  the 
1+2+3-f  4^10,  is  a  way  of  expressing  this  idea.  The  One  is  the  im- 
personal principle  'God';  the  Two,  matter;  the  Three,  combining  JNIonad 
and  Duad  and  partaking  of  the  nature  of  both,  is  the  phenomenal  world ; 
the  Tetrad,  or  form  of  perfection,  expresses  the  emptiness  of  all ;  and 
the  Decad,  or  sum  of  all,  involves  the  entire  Kosmos. 
Thalassa  (Gr.).     The  sea.     (See  "Thallath".). 

Thales  (Gr.).  The  Greek  philosopher  of  Miletus  (circa  600  years 
B.C.)  wlio  taught  that  the  whole  universe  was  produced  from  water, 
wiiile  Heraclitus  of  Ephesus  maintained  that  it  was  produced  by  fire, 
and  Anaximenes  by  air.  Thales,  whose  real  name  is  unknown,  took  his 
name  from  Thallath,  in  accordance  with  the  philosophy  he  taught. 

Thallath  (Chald.).  The  same  as  Thalassa.  The  goddess  personifying 
the  sea,  identical  with  Tiamat  and  connected  with  Tamti  and  Belita.. 


GLOSSARY  303 

The  godtk'ss  who  gave  birth  to  eveTv  variety  of  primordial  monster  in 
Rerosus'  account  of  cosmogony. 

Tharana  (Sk.).  "Mesmerism",  or  rather  self-induced  trance  or  self 
hypnotisation ;  an  action  in  India,  which  is  of  magical  character  and  a 
kind  of  exorcism.  Lit.,  "to  brush  or  sweep  away"  (evil  influences. 
iharhn  meaning  a  broom,  and  ihdrnhan,  a  duster)  ;  driving  away  the  bad 
hhuts  (bad  aura  and  bad  spirits)  through  the  raesmeriser's  beneficent 
will. 

Thaumaturgy.  Wonder  or  "miracle-working";  the  power  of  work- 
ing wondei's  with  the  help  of  gods.  From  the  Greek  words  ihnvma, 
"wonder"',  and  thcurgia,  "divine  work". 

Theanthropism.  A  state  of  being  both  god  and  man  ;  a  di%-ine  Ava{<ir 
(q.v.). 

Theiohel  (JI<b.).  The  man-producing  hal)itable  globe,  our  earth  in 
the  Zohnr. 

Theli  (Chald.).  The  great  dragon  said  to  environ  tlie  universe  svm- 
bolieally.  In  Hebrew  letters  it  is  TLI=400-h304-10=440 :  when  "its 
crest  [initial  letter]  is  repressed",  said  the  Rabbis,  40  remains,  or  the 
equivalent  of  Mem;  ]\r=Water,  the  waters  above  th(^  firmament.  Evi- 
dently the  same  idea  as  s^'mbolised  by  Shesha — the  Serpent  of  Vishini. 

Theocrasy.  Lit.,  "mixing  of  gods".  The  worship  of  various  gods,  as 
that  of  Jehovah  and  the  gods  of  the  Gentiles  in  the  ease  of  the  idolatrous 
Jews. 

Theodicy.  "Divine  riglit".  i.e..  the  privilege  of  an  all-merciful  and 
just  God  to  afflict  tlie  innocent,  and  damn  those  predestined,  and  still 
I'emain  a  loving  and  just  Deity:  theologically — a  mystery. 

Theodidaktos  (Gr.).  Lit.,  "God-taught".  Used  of  Ammonius  Saccas, 
tile  founder  of  the  Neo-Platonic  Eclectic  School  of  the  Philalethfe  in  the 
fourth  century  at  Alexandria. 

Theogony.  The  genesis  of  the  gods;  that  l)ranch  of  all  non-Christian 
tlu^ologies  which  teaches  the  genealogy  of  the  various  deities.  An 
ancient  Greek  name  for  that  which  was  translated  later  as  the  "gene- 
alogy of  the  generation  of  Adam  and  the  Patriarchs" — the  latter  being 
all  "gods  and  planets  and  zodiacal  signs". 

Theomachy.  Fighting  with,  or  against  the  gods,  such  as  the  "War 
of  the  Titans",  the  "War  in  Heaven"  and  the  Battle  of  the  Archangels 
(gods'*  against  their  brothers  the  Arch-fiends  (ex-gods,  Asuras,  etc.). 

Theomancy.  Divination  through  oracles,  from  theos,  a  god.  and 
iiKDiti  id,    divination. 

Theopathy.     Sutl'ei'ing  for  one's  god.     Religious  fanaticism. 

Theophilanthropism  (Gr.).  Love  to  God  and  man,  or  rather,  in  the 
philosopiiical  sense,  love  of  God  through  love  of  Humanity.  Certain 
persons  who  during  the  first  revolution  in  France  sought  to  replace 
Chri.stianity  by  pure  philanthropy  and  reason,  called  themselves  thcophi- 
Ifuithrupisls. 


304  TIIEOSOPIIirAL 

Theophilosophy.     Tin  ism  and  pliilosoithy  coinbiiit'd. 

Theopneusty.  Kt-vilatimi ;  suiiit'tliin<r  driven  (H-  iiis|iir((l  hy  a  irtKl 
or  (li\iiii-  tniiiL:.     Divine  inspiration. 

Theopcea  (dr.).  A  niajric  art  of  ondowin^  inaniinat<'  fi<iurcs,  statiios. 
and  uih.  r  nhjccts.  with  life,  spcccli.  or  loeoniotion. 

Theosophia  ((h\).  Wisdoni-rtdijrion.  or  "Divine  Wisdom".  The 
snl)stratuni  and  l)asis  of  all  the  woi'ld-relifrions  ami  philosophies.  tau«rlit 
and  practised  hy  a  few  eleet  ever  sinee  man  heeaine  a  thinkinfr  l)einjr. 
In  it.s  practical  hearing:.  The()soi)hy  is  pnrely  (liri)u  rthics:  tiie  defini- 
tions in  dictionaries  are  pure  nonsense.  l)asod  on  religious  prejudice  and 
iprnoranpp  of  the  true  spirit  of  the  early  Rosierucians  and  moditrval 
philnsoplirrs  wlio  called  themselves  Thoosophists. 

Theosophical  Society,  or  'Tniversal  Brotherhood".  Founded  in  187') 
at  New  York,  hy  Colonel  11.  S.  Oleott  and  IT.  P.  Rlavatsky.  helped  hy 
\V.  Q.  Judfre  and  several  others.  Its  avowed  object  was  at  first  the 
scientific  invostifration  of  j^sychic  or  so-called  "sjiiritnalistic"  phenom- 
ena, after  which  its  three  chief  ol)jects  were  declared,  namely  (1)  Broth- 
erliood  of  man.  without  distinction  of  race,  colour,  relifrion,  or  social 
position;  (2^  the  serious  study  of  the  ancient  world-reliprions  for  pur- 
poses of  comparison  and  the  selection  therefrom  of  universal  ethics;  (3) 
the  study  and  development  of  the  latent  divinr  powers  in  man.  At  the 
present  moment  it  lias  over  250  Branches  scattered  all  over  the  world, 
most  of  which  are  in  India,  where  also  its  chief  Headquarters  are  estal)- 
lished.  It  is  composed  of  several  larpre  Sections — the  Indian,  the  Ameri- 
can, the  Australian,  and  the  European  Sections. 

Theosophists.  A  name  by  wliich  many  mystics  at  various  j)eriods  of 
history  hav.-  called  themselves.  The  Neo-Platonists  of  Alexandria  were 
Theosophists;  the  Alchemi-sts  and  Kabbalists  duriufr  the  medifpval  ajres 
were  likewise  so  called,  also  the  ]\Iartinists,  the  Quietists,  and  other  kinds 
of  mystics,  whether  actinj;  independently  or  incorporated  in  a  brother- 
hood or  society.  All  real  lovers  of  divine  Wisdom  and  Truth  had,  and 
have,  a  rip^ht  to  the  name,  rather  than  those  wlio.  apjiropi-iatinjr  the 
qualification,  live  lives  or  perfoi-m  actions  opposed  to  the  princi])les  of 
Tlieosophy.  As  described  l)y  Brother  Kennetli  R.  ^Mackenzie,  the 
Theosophists  of  the  past  centuries — "entirely  speculative,  and  foundiufr 
no  schools,  have  still  exercised  a  silent  influence  upon  philosophy ;  and, 
no  doubt,  when  the  time  arrives,  many  ideas  thus  silently  propounded 
may  yet  give  new  directions  to  human  thought.  One  of  the  ways  in 
which  these  doctrines  liave  obtained  not  only  authority,  but  power,  has 
been  amonjr  certain  enthusiasts  in  the  hipher  degrees  of  Masonry.  This 
power  has,  however,  to  a  great  degree  died  with  the  founders,  and  mod- 
ern P^'reemasonry  contains  few  traces  of  theosophic  influence.  However 
accurate  and  beautiful  .some  of  the  ideas  of  Swedenborg,  Pernetty,  Pas- 
chalis,  Saint  Martin,  Marconis,  Ragon,  and  Chastanier  may  have  been, 
they  have  but  little  direct  influence  on  societ.y."  This  is  true  of  the 
Theosophists  of  tlie  la.st  three  centuries,  but  not  of  the  later  ones.     For 


GLOSSARY  305 

the  Theosophists  of  the  cun-ent  century  have  already  visibly  imprt'sseti 
themselves  on  modern  literature,  and  introduced  the  desin^  and  cravinj^ 
for  some  philosophy  in  place  of  the  blind  dogmatic  faith  of  yore,  among 
the  most  intelligent  portions  of  human-kind.  Such  is  the  difference 
bi'twccn  past  and  modern  TnEOSOPiiY. 

Therapeutse  (Gr.).  or  Thtrapniti  s.  A  school  of  Esotericists.  which 
was  an  inner  group  witiiin  Alexandrian  Judaism  and  not,  as  generally 
believed,  a  "sect".  They  were  "healers"  in  the  sense  that  some  "Chris- 
tian" and  "Mental"  Scientists,  members  of  the  T.S.,  are  healers,  while 
they  are  at  the  same  time  good  Theosophists  and  students  of  the  esoteric 
sciences.  Philo  Juda'us  calls  them  "servants  of  god".  As  justly  showji 
in  A  Dictionari)  of  .  .  .  Litiratun ,  S(cts,  and  Doctrines  (Vol.  IV., 
art.  "Pliilo  Judipus")  in  mentioning  the  Therapeutes — "There  appears 
no  reason  to  think  of  a  special  'sect',  but  rather  of  an  esoteric  circle  of 
illuminati,  of  'wise  men'  .  .  .  Thev  were  contemplative  Hellenistie 
Jews." 

Thermutis  (Eg.).  The  asp-crown  of  the  goddess  Isis :  also  the  name 
of  the  legendary  daughter  of  Pliaraoh  who  is  alleged  to  have  saved 
•Moses  from  the  Nile. 

Thero  (Pali).    A  priest  of  Buddha.     Thcrunnansc,  also. 

Theurgia,  or  Theurgy  (Gr.).  A  communication  with,  and  means  of 
bringing  down  to  earth,  planetary  spirits  and  angels — the  "gods  of 
Liglit".  Knowledge  of  the  inner  meaning  of  their  hierarchies,  and 
purity  of  life  alone  can  lead  to  the  acquisition  of  the  powers  necessary 
for  communion  with  them.  To  arrive  at  such  an  exalted  goal  the  as- 
pirant must  be  absolutely  wortiiy  and  unselfish. 

Theurgist.  Tlie  first  .scliool  of  practical  theurgy  (from  (r)to^,  god. 
and  V{)yoi\  work,)  in  tlie  Cliristian  period,  was  founded  by  lamblichus 
among  certain  Alexandrian  Platonists.  The  priests,  however,  who  were 
attached  to  the  temples  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  Babylonia  and  Greece,  and 
whose  business  it  was  to  evoke  the  gods  during  the  celebration  of  tlie 
Mysteries,  were  known  by  this  name,  or  its  equivalent  in  other  tongues, 
from  the  earliest  ai-eliaic  period.  Spirits  (but  not  tliose  of  the  d«'ad,  the 
evocation  of  whicli  was  called  Ntcromancg)  were  made  visilile  to  the  eyes 
of  mortals.  Thus  a  theurgist  had  to  be  a  hierophant  and  an  expert  in 
the  esoteric  learning  of  the  Sanctuaries  of  all  great  countries.  The  Neo- 
platonists  of  the  school  of  lamblichus  were  called  theurgists,  for  they 
performed  the  so-called  "ceremonial  magic'',  and  evoked  the  simulacra 
or  the  images  of  the  ancient  heroes,  "gods",  and  daimonia  (  <\i(unna, 
divine,  spiritual  entities).  In  the  rare  eases  wlu-n  tlie  presence  of  a 
tangible  and  visil)Je  "si)irit"  w;is  required,  the  tlieurgist  had  to  furnish 
the  weird  ai>parition  witli  a  i)ortion  of  his  own  flesh  and  blood — he  had 
to  perform  the  thcopaa,  or  the  "creation  of  gods",  by  a  mysterious 
process  well  known  to  the  old,  and  perhaps  some  of  the  modern. 
Tiuitrikas  and  initiated  Brahmans  of  India.  Such  is  what  is  said  in  the 
Book  of  Evocations  of  the  pagodas.    It  shows  the  jK-rfcet  identity  of  rites 


306  THEUSorilKAI. 

and  wiviiionial  between  flu-  oldest  liriiliiniinii-  tlniii-jiy  jiiid  that  of  tlie 
Alexandrian  Platonists. 

The  followiiipr  is  from  /\/.s-  I' nn  ih  <l -.  "The  lii-ahnian  Gi'iliasta  (the 
ivoeator;  nuist  ]>»•  in  a  state  of  eoniplftc  pnrity  hefon^  he  ventiires  to  call 
foith  tilt'  Pitris.  After  iiavinj;  prepared  a  lamp,  some  sandal-ineensc 
ote..  and  havinfr  traeed  the  majjie  eircles  taufrht  him  by  tlie  superior 
Guru,  in  order  to  keep  away  hod  spirits,  lie  eeases  to  ])reathe,  and  calls 
the  fhr  ( Ki(tt(l<ilifii)  to  his  help  to  ilisjx'rse  his  body."  He  pronounces  a 
certain  number  of  times  the  saered  word,  and  "his  soul  (astral  body) 
escajjcs  from  its  prison,  his  body  disapi)ears  and  the  soul  (imapre)  of 
the  evoked  sjnrit  descends  into  the  double  body  and  animates  it'*.  Then 
"his  (the  tlieurgfist's)  .soul  (astral)  re-enters  its  body,  whose  subtile 
particles  have  aprain  been  aprprefjatinp:  (to  the  objective  sense),  after 
having:  formed  for  thenLselves  an  aerial  body  for  the  deva  (god  or 
spirit)  he  evoked".  .  .  .  And  then,  the  operator  propounds  to  the 
latter  questions  "on  the  mysteries  of  Being  and  the  transformation  of 
the  impcrishahlr".  The  j)opular  j^i-evailing  idea  is  that  the  theurprists, 
as  well  as  the  magicians,  worked  wonders,  such  as  evoking  the  souls  or 
shadows  of  the  heroes  and  gods,  and  other  thaumaturgic  works,  by  super- 
natural powers.  But  this  never  was  the  fact.  They  did  it  simply  by 
the  liberation  of  their  own  astral  body,  which,  taking  the  form  of  a  god 
or  hero,  served  as  a  medium  or  vehicle  through  which  the  special  current 
preserving  the  ideas  and  knowledge  of  that  hero  or  god  could  be  reached 
and  manifested.     (See  "lambliehus".) 

Thirty-two  Ways  of  Wisdom  (Kah.).  The  Zohar  says  that  Choehmah 
or  Ilokhmah  (wisdom)  generates  all  things  "by  means  of  (these)  thirty- 
two  paths."  (Zohar  iii.,  290a).  The  full  account  of  them  is  found  in 
the  Sepher  Yczirah,  wherein  letters  and  numbers  constitute  as  entities 
the  Thirty-two  Paths  of  Wisdom,  by  which  the  Elohim  built  the  whole 
T'^niver.se.  For.  as  said  elsewhere,  the  brain  "hath  an  outlet  from  Zeir 
Anpin.  and  therefore  it  is  spread  and  goes  out  to  thirty-two  ways".  Zeir 
Anjiin.  the  "Short  Face"  or  the  "Lesser  Countenance",  is  tlie  Heavenly 
Adam,  Adam  Kadmon,  or  Man.  Man  in  the  Zohar  is  looked  upon  as 
the  twenty-two  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet  to  which  the  decad  is 
added  :  and  hence  the  thirty-two  symbols  of  his  faculties  or  paths. 

Thohu-Bohu  (Ileh.).  From  Tohoo — "the  Deep"  and  Bohu  "primeval 
Space" — or  the  Deep  of  Primeval  Space,  loosely  rendered  as  "Chaos", 
"Confusion"  and  so  on.    Also  spelt  and  pronounced  ^'tohu-hohu^\ 

Thomei  (Eg.).  The  Goddess  of  Justice,  with  eyes  bandaged  and  liold- 
ing  a  ero.ss.     The  same  as  the  Greek  Themis. 

Thor  (Scand.).  From  Thonar  to  "thunder".  The  son  of  Odin  and 
Freya.  and  the  chief  of  all  Elemental  Spirits.  The  god  of  thunder, 
Jupiter  Tonans.  The  word  Thursday  is  named  after  Thor.  Among  the 
Romans  Thursday  was  the  day  of  Jupiter,  Jovis  dies,  Jcudi  in  French' — 
the  fifth  day  of  the  week,  sacred  also  to  the  i)lanet  Jupiter. 

Thorah  fllrh.).    "Law",  written  down  from  the  transposition  of  the 


GLOSSARY  307 

letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet.  Of  the  "hidden  Thorah''  it  is  said  that 
before  At-tee-kah  (the  "Ancient  of  all  the  Ancients")  had  arran*red 
Itself  into  limbs  (or  members)  preparinpr  Itself  to  manifest.  It  willed  to 
create  a  Thorali ;  the  latter  upon  beinjr  produced  addressed  It  in  these 
words:  "It,  that  wishes  to  arranjre  and  to  appoint  other  thinprs.  should 
first  of  all,  arranjje  Itself  in  Its  proper  Forms".  In  other  words,  Thorah. 
the  Law,  snubbed  its  Creator  from  the  moment  of  its  birth,  according  to 
the  above  which  is  an  interpolation  of  some  later  Talmudist.  As  it  ^rew 
and  developed,  the  mystic  Law  of  the  primitive  Kabbalist  was  trans- 
formed and  made  by  the  Rabbins  to  supersede  in  its  dead  letter  .-Vfry 
metaphysical  conception  ;  and  tluis  the  Rabbinical  and  Talmudistic  Law 
makes  Ain  So])h  and  every  divine  Principl<>  subservient  to  itself,  and 
turns  its  back  upon  the  true  esoteric  interpretations. 

Thor's  Hammer.  A  weapon  which  had  the  form  of  the  Svastika  : 
called  by  Euroi)ean  Mystics  and  Masons  the  "Hermetic  Cross",  and 
also  "Jaina  Cross",  croix  cramponntc  \  the  most  archaic,  as  the  most 
sacred  and  universally  respected  symbol.     (See  "Svastika".) 

Thoth  (Eg.).  The  most  mysterious  and  the  least  understood  of  ^rods. 
whose  personal  character  is  entirely  distinct  from  all  other  ancient 
deities.  While  the  permutations  of  Osiris,  Isis,  Horus,  and  the  rest,  are 
so  numberless  that  their  individuality  is  all  but  lost,  Thoth  remains 
chano:eless  from  the  first  to  the  last  Dynasty.  He  is  the  ^rod  of  wisdom 
and  of  authority  over  all  other  jrods.  He  is  the  recorder  and  the  .iudge. 
His  ibis-head,  the  pen  and  tablet  of  the  celestial  scribe,  who  records  the 
thoughts,  words  and  deeds  of  men  and  weighs  them  in  the  balance,  liken 
him  to  the  type  of  the  esoteric  Lipikas.  His  name  is  one  of  the  first  that 
appears  on  the  oldest  monuments.  He  is  the  lunar  god  of  the  first 
dynasties,  the  master  of  Cynoeephalus — the  dog-headed  ape  who  stood 
in  Egypt  as  a  living  symbol  and  remembrance  of  the  Third  Root-Race. 
(Secret  Doetrine,  II.  pp.  184  and  ISo).  He  is  the  "Lord  of  Hermopolis" 
— Jaiuis,  Ilermes  and  Mercury  combined.  He  is  crowned  with  an  a^/ 
and  the  lunar  disk,  and  bears  the  "P]ye  of  Horus",  the  tliirel  eye,  in  his 
hand.  He  is  the  Greek  Hermes,  the  god  of  learning,  and  Hermes 
Trismegistus,  the  "Thrice-great  Hermes",  the  patron  of  physical  sci- 
ences and  the  patron  and  very  soul  of  the  occult  esoteric  knowledge. 
As  Mr.  J.  Bonwick,  F.R.G.S.,  beautifully  expresses  it:  "Thoth  .  .  . 
has  a  powerful  effect  on  the  imagination  ...  in  this  intricate  yet 
beautiful  phantasmagoria  of  thought  and  moral  sentiment  of  that 
shadowy  past.  It  is  in  vain  we  ask  ourselves  however  man,  in  the  infancy 
of  this  world  of  humanity,  in  the  rudeness  of  supposed  incipient  civiliza- 
tion, could  have  dreamed  of  such  a  heavenly  being  as  Thoth.  The  lines 
are  so  delicately  drawn,  so  intimately  and  tastefully  interwoven,  that 
we  seem  to  regard  a  picture  designed  by  the  genius  of  a  ^lilton,  and 
executed  with  the  skill  of  a  Raphael."  Verily,  there  was  some  truth  in 
the  old  saying,  "The  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians".  .  .  .  "When  it  is 
shown  that  the  wife  of  Cephren,  builder  of  the  second  Pyramid,  was  a 
priestess  of  Thoth,  one  sees  that  the  ideas  comprehended  in  him  were 


308  TlIKosol'IllCAL 

Hxt'tl  ti.OOO  \tnvs  a^'u"".  Acfonliii^'  1<>  ri;ito.  •'rimtli  Il.rnns  was  tlu* 
iliscovnvi-  ami  invfiit(»r  of  mimlH'i-s,  jri-oint'try.  astnuiuniy  and  letters". 
l*i*oclus,  tilt-  disciple  (tf  IMotimis.  spcakintr  of  this  inysterions  deity,  says: 
"lie  presides  over  evi-ry  spicics  of  coiiditioii,  leadirifr  us  to  an  intellitriltl"' 
"ssence  from  this  mortal  abode,  jjovernin^r  the  difTerent  lierds  of  .souls". 
In  other  words  Thoth.  as  the  Kefji.strar  and  Reeorder  of  Osiris  in  Anu'nti, 
the  JiKljrnuMif  Hall  of  the  Dead  was  a  psychoponipic  deity;  while 
lamhliehns  hints  that  "thr  cross  with  a  handle  (the  thau  or  tan)  which 
Tot  holds  in  his  hand,  was  none  other  tlian  the  monoj^ram  of  his  name". 
Besiiles  the  Tau.  as  the  ])rototype  of  Mercury.  Thoth  carries  the  serpent - 
rod.  emblem  of  Wisdom,  the  rod  that  becomes  the  Caduceus.  Says  .Mr. 
Monwick,  ''Hermes  was  the  serpent  it.self  in  a  mystical  .sense.  He  j^lidcs 
lik«'  that  creature,  noiselessly,  without  ai)pan'nt  exertion,  along  the 
course  of  apres.  He  is  ...  a  rei)rcsentative  of  the  sjjanfrled  lieavens. 
Hut  he  is  the  foe  of  the  bad  serpent,  for  the  ibis  devoured  the  snakes  of 
K<r\  pt ". 

Thothori  Nyan  Tsan  (Tib.).  A  Kin«r  of  Tibet  in  the  fourth  century. 
It  is  narrated  tliat  duriji<r  his  reipn  he  was  visited  by  five  mysterious 
straufjers.  who  revealed  to  him  how  he  mi<rht  use  for  his  country's  wel- 
fare four  precious  lhin(js  which  had  fallen  down  from  heaven,  in  331  .\.D., 
in  a  proldi-n  casket  and  "the  u.s<3  of  whicli  no  one  knew".  These  were 
(I)  hands  folded  as  the  Buddhist  a.scetics  fold  them;  (2)  a  be-jewelled 
Shoricu  (a  Stu[)a  built  over  a  receptacle  for  relics)  ;  (3)  a  gem  in.scribed 
with  the  "Aum  mani  i)adme  hum";  and  (4)  the  Zamntog,  a  religious 
work  on  ethics,  a  i)art  of  the  Kanjur.  A  voice  from  heaven  then  told 
the  King  that  after  a  certain  luimber  of  generations  every  one  would 
learn  how  jirecious  these  four  things  were.  Tlic  number  of  gem^rations 
stated  carried  the  world  to  the  seventh  century,  when  Buddhism  became 
the  accepted  religion  of  Tibet.  Making  an  allowance  for  legendary 
licence,  the  four  things  fallen  from  heaven,  the  voice,  and  the  five 
mysterious  strangers,  may  be  easily  seen  to  liave  been  historical  facts. 
The>  were  without  any  doubt  five  Arhats  or  Bhikshus  from  India,  on 
tlieir  pro.selytising  tour.  ^lany  were  the  Indian  sages  who,  jier.secutcd 
in  India  for  their  new  faith,  betook  themselves  to  Tibet  and  China. 

Thraetaona  (Mazd.).  The  Persian  Michael,  who  contended  with  Zorak 
<ii'  Azhi-Daliaka.  the  destroj'ing  serpent.  In  the  Armta  Azhi-Dahaka  is 
a  three-headed  monster,  one  of  whose  heads  is  human  and  the  two  others 
Ophidian.  Dahaka.  who  is  shown  in  the  Zoroa.strian  Scriptures  as  com- 
ing from  Babylonia,  stands  as  the  allegorical  symbol  of  the  Assyrian 
ilynasty  of  King  Dahaka  (A/-Daliaka)  which  ruled  Asia  with  an  iron 
iiand.  and  whose  banne7\s  boi'e  the  j)ur])le  sign  of  the  dragon,  purpurcuui 
sir/uum  draconis.  MetaphysicallN',  however,  the  human  iu-ad  denotes  the 
j)hysical  man,  and  the  two  serpent  heads  the  dual  manasic  principles — 
the  dragon  and  serpent  lM»tli  standing  as  symbols  of  wisdcmi  and  occult 
powers. 

Thread  Soul.     Tln'  same  ;is  S)iir,'it,nn  i<i.v.). 


OLOSSARV  309 

Three  Degrees  'of  Initiatiou  >.  Evtry  nation  had  its  exoteric  and 
esoteric  reli^rion.  the  one  for  tlie  masses,  the  other  for  the  learned  and 
ek'ct.  For  examph',  the  Ilindns  had  three  deprrees  with  several  suh- 
(k'frrees.  The  Efryi>tians  liad  also  three  preliminary  defrrees.  personified 
under  tlie  "tliree  pruardians  of  the  fire"  in  the  .Mysteries.  The  Chinese 
had  their  most  ancient  Tri/id  Society  :  and  the  Tihetans  have  to  this  day 
their  ''triple  step";  which  wls  symholized  in  the  Vcdas  hy  the  three 
strides  of  Vishnu.  Everywhere  antiquity  shows  an  unbounded  reverence 
for  the  Triad  and  Triangle — the  first  jreometrical  hpnre.  The  old 
Babylonians  liad  their  three  stages  of  initiation  into  the  priesthood 
(which  was  then  esoteric  knowledge)  ;  the  Jews  .tlie  Kabbalists  aud 
mystics  borrowed  them  from  the  Chaldees.  and  the  Christian  ("Church 
from  the  Jews.  "There  are  Two",  says  Kabbi  Simon  ben  Jochai.  "in 
conjunction  with  One;  hence  they  are  Three,  and  if  they  are  Three,  then 
they  are  One." 

Three  Faces.  The  Trimurti  of  the  Indian  Pantheon ;  tiie  tliree  persons 
of  the  one  godhead.  Says  the  Book  of  Precepts:  "There  are  two  Faces, 
one  in  Tushita  (Dcvdchan)  and  one  in  Myalba  (earth)  ;  and  the  Highest 
Holy  unites  them  and  finally  absorb.s  both." 

Three  Fires  (Occult ).  The  name  given  to  .\tnia-Bn(l(llii-Man;is.  wliieli 
wlien  united  l)ecome  one. 

Thsang  Thisrong  tsan  (Tib.).  A  king  who  flourished  between  tlie 
years  72S  and  7^7.  and  wlio  invited  from  Bengal  Pandit  Rak.shit,  called 
for  his  great  learning  Bodiiisattva,  to  come  and  st^ttle  in  Tibet,  in  order 
to  teach  Buddhist  philosophy  to  his  priests. 

Thumi  Sambhota  (Sk.).  An  Indian  mystic  and  man  nt'  .■nulition.  the 
inventor  of  the  Tibetan  alphabet. 

Thummim  fTT(h.).  "Perfections. ""  An  ornament  on  tlie  brea.stplates 
of  the  aneiiiit  High  Priests  of  Judaism.  ^lodern  Rabbins  and  Hebraists 
may  well  pretend  they  do  not  know  tlie  joint  inirj^oses  of  the  Thuwmim 
and  the  Urim;  but  the  KabbalLsts  do  and  likewise  the  Occultists.  They 
were  the  instruments  of  magic  divination  and  oracular  communication 
— theurgic  and  astrological.  This  is  shown  in  the  following  well-kni>wn 
facts: — (1)  upon  each  of  the  twelve  precious  stones  was  engraved  the 
name  of  one  of  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob,  each  of  these  ".sons"  ]>er.sonat- 
ing  one  of  the  signs  of  the  zodiac;  (2)  both  were  oracular  images,  like  the 
t<raphim,  and  uttered  oracUa  by  a  voice,  and  both  were  agents  for  hyp- 
notisation  and  throwing  the  priests  who  wore  them  into  an  ecstatic 
condition.  The  Urim  and  Thummim  were  not  original  with  the  Hebrews, 
but  had  been  borrowed,  like  most  of  their  other  religious  rites,  from  the 
Egyptians,  with  whom  the  mystic  scarabanis,  worn  ou  the  breast  by  the 
Hierophants,  had  the  same  functions.  They  were  thus  purely  hcatfu  ii 
(Did  magical  modes  of  divination;  and  when  tlu^  Jewi.sh  "Lord  God"  was 
called  upon  to  manifest  his  presence  and  sjieak  out  his  will  through  tlie 
I' rim  by  preliminary  incantations,  the  modus  operandi  was  the  same  as 
th.it  u.sed  l)\-  all  the  Gentile  priests  the  world  over. 


310  THK(>St)PHlc.\l- 

Thumos  idr.i.  Tlic  ;isli-;il,  iniinial  soul;  tlif  haiiKi-Mciiiiis :  Thuinas 
means  passion,  ilcsirt-  and  confusion  and  is  so  used  by  Homer.  The  word 
is  pr()l)al)ly  derived  from  the  Sanskit  Tunuis,  which  has  the  same 
meaning'. 

Tia-Hiianaco  il'intw).  Most  ma<rnitieint  ruins  (»t'  a  pn'-historie  city 
in   Pei-ii. 

Tiamat  ( I'liahL).  A  female  draj?on  jx-rsonifyinj?  the  ocean;  the 
"^rr.at  mother"  or  tiic  livin«j  principle  of  chaos.  Tiamat  wanted  to 
swallow  liel.  hut  Hv\  sent  a  wind  which  entered  jier  o]ien  mouth  and 
killed  Tiamat. 

Tiaou  (Eg.).    A  kind  (d'  Devaehanic  lyast  niorh  in  state. 

Tien-Hoang  (Chin.).    The  twelve  hierarchies  of  Dhyanis. 

Tien-Sin  {Chin.).  Lit.,  "the  heaven  of  mind",  or  abstract,  subjective, 
ideal  lu'aven.    A  metaphysical  term  applied  to  the  Ahsolute. 

Tikkun  (Chald.).  Manifested  Man  or  Adam  Kadmon,  the  first  ray 
frttm  the  manifi'stetl  Logos. 

Tiphereth  (llih.).  Beauty;  the  sixth  of  the  ten  Sephiroth,  a  mascu- 
line active  potency,  corresponding  to  the  Vau,  V,  of  the  Tetragrammaton 
UIVII:  also  called  Melekh  or  King;  and  the  Sou.  It  is  the  central 
.Sephira  of  the  six  which  compose  Zauir  Anpin,  the  ^licroprosopus,  or 
Lesser  Countenance.     It  is  translated  "Beauty''  and  "Mildness". 

Tirthakas,  or  Thihika  and  Tirthgos  (Sk.).  "Heretical  teachers." 
An  ei)itiiet  applied  by  the  Buddhist  ascetics  to  the  Brahmans  and  cer- 
tain Yogis  of  India. 

Tirthankara  (Sk.).  Jaina  saints  and  chiefs,  of  which  there  are 
tw(  nf.\ -four.  It  is  claimed  that  one  of  them  was  the  spiritual  Guru  of 
Gautama  Buddha.     Tirthankara  is  a  synonym  of  Jaina. 

Tiryaksrota  (ISk.).  From  tirgak  "crooked",  and  sroias  (digestive) 
'•canal'.  The  name  of  the  "creation"  by  Brahma  of  men  or  beings, 
whose  stomachs  were,  on  account  of  their  erect  position  as  bipeds,  in  a 
iiorizontal  position.    This  is  a  Puranic  invention,  absent  in  Occultism. 

Tishya  (Sk.).    The  same  as  Kaliyuga,  the  Fourth  Age. 

Titans  (Gr.).  Giants  of  divine  origin  in  Greek  mythology  who  made 
war  against  the  gods.    Prometheus  was  one  of  them. 

Titiksha  (tik.).  Lit,.,  "long-suffering,  patience".  Titiksha,  daughter 
of  Oak.Nliu  and  wife  of  Dharma  (divine  law)  is  its  personification. 

To  On  (Gr.).  The  "Being",  the  "Ineffable  All"  of  Plato.  He 
"whom  no  person  has  seen  except  the  Son". 

Tobo  (Gnost.).  In  the  Codex  Nazaraus,  a  mysterious  being  whicli 
bears  the  soul  of  Adam  from  Orcus  to  the  place  of  life,  and  thence  is 
called  "the  liberator  of  the  soul  of  Adam". 

Todas.  A  mysterious  people  of  India  found  in  the  unexplored  fast- 
nesses of  Xilgiri  (Blue)  Hills  in  the  Madras  Presidency,  whose  origin, 
language    and    religion    are    to   this   day   unknown.      Tliey    are   entirely 


GLOSSARY  ;311 

distinct,  ftliiiicjilly.  i)liil()lop:ically,  and  in  every  other  way.  from  the 
Hddagas  and  the  M iildknndithas,  two  other  races  found  on  the  same  liills. 

Toom  (E(/.).  A  prod  issued  from  Osiris  in  liis  eliaraeter  of  the  Gnat 
Deep  Noot.  lie  is  tlie  Protean  god  who  generates  other  gods,  ''assuming 
the  form  he  likes".    lie  is  Fohat.     (Secret  Doctrine,  I.,  673.  i 

Tope.  An  artificial  mound  covering  relics  of  Buddha  oi-  some  othtr 
great  Arhat.     The  Topes  are  also  called  Dagobas. 

Tophet  (Ilch.).  A  place  in  the  valley  of  Gehenna,  nt-ar  Jerusalem, 
where  a  constant  fire  was  kept  burning,  in  which  children  were  im- 
molated to  Baal.  The  locality  is  thus  the  prototype  of  tlx-  Christian 
ITell,  the  fiery  Gelienna  of  endless  woe. 

Toralva,  Dr.  Eugene.  A  physician  wiio  lived  in  the  fourteenth 
centur3%  and  who  received  as  a  gift  from  Friar  Pietro,  a  great  magician 
and  a  Dominican  monk,  a  demon  named  Zequiel  to  be  his  faithful 
servant.     (See  Isis  Unveiled  II.,  60.) 

Toyambudhi  (Sk.).  A  country  in  the  northern  part  of  which  lay  tlie 
"White  Island" — Shvrta  Diripo — one  of  the  seven  Puranie  islamls  or 
continents. 

Trailokya,  or  Trilokya  (Sk.).  Lit.,  the  "three  regions"  or  worlds:  the 
complementary  triad  to  the  Brahmanical  quartenary  of  worlds  named 
Bhuvanatrajjo.  A  Buddhist  profane  layman  will  mention  only  three 
<li\dsions  of  every  world,  wliile  a  non-initiated  Brahman  will  maintain 
that  there  are  four.  The  four  divisions  of  the  latter  are  purely  physical 
and  sensuous,  the  Trailokya  of  the  Buddhist  are  purely  spiritual  and 
ethical.  The  Brahmanical  division  may  be  found  fully  described  under 
the  heading  of  Vyahritif;,  the  diflference  being  for  the  present  suflfici-titly 
shown  in  the  following  parallel : — 

Brahmanical  Division  of  the  Buddhist    Division     of    th<      h'>  - 

Worlds.  ffions. 

1.  "World   of   Desire.   Kaniadhntii   or 

1.  Bhur,  earth.  Kdmaloka. 

2.  Bhuvah,   heaven,    firmament.         '2.  World  of  form.  l!Hi»i<Uini\i. 

3.  Swar,  atmosphere,  the  sk\'.         /o    mi,    *       i  i  i     i    ■       ;/  •< 

i    Tif  I.         .         11       •  (O.  The  formless  world.  .h-(//H/(//»r////. 

4.  Mahar,  eternal  luminous  essence.  J 

All  these  are  the  worlds  of  post  morli  di  states.  For  instance. 
Kdmalnkn  or  KAmadhatu,  the  region  of  ]\Iara.  is  that  wliich  median-al 
and  modern  Kabalists  call  the  world  of  a.stral  light,  and  the  "world 
of  shells".  Kamaloka  lias,  like  every  other  region,  its  seven  diNnsions. 
the  lowest  of  wliich  begins  on  earth  or  invisibly  in  its  atmosphere:  the 
six  otliers  ascend  gradually,  the  highest  being  the  abode  of  those  who  have 
died  owing  to  accident,  or  suicide  in  a  fit  of  temporary  insanity,  or  were 
otherwise  victims  of  external  forces.  It  is  a  place  where  all  those 
who  have  died  before  the  end  of  the  term  allotted  to  tliem.  and  whose 
iiigher  jn-inciples  do  not.  therefore,  go  at  once  into  Devachanic  state — 
sleep  a  dreamless  sweet  sleep  of  oblivion,  at  the  termination  of  whieh 


312  TIIEUSDIMIICAI, 

tlifv  ar«'  citliti-  rclxti'ii  iimiirdiatclN ,  m-  pass  ;:i-a(luall\  iiitt»  the  Dcvarli- 
anic  statt'.  Iiuixnlhaht  is  the  celestial  world  of  form,  or  what  we  call 
Dctachan.  With  the  uninitiated  lirahmaiis.  Chinese  and  other  Budd- 
hists, tlie  Kupadhatu  is  divided  into  einrhteen  Brnhmfi  or  D*  valokas: 
the  life  of  a  soul  therein  lasts  fr-oni  half  a  Yufra  up  to  IH.OOO  YujGras  or 
Kalpas.  and  the  heij^ht  of  the"Shades"  is  from  half  a  Yojana  up  to 
1(). ()()()  Vojanas  (a  Yojaiui  nieasurinpr  from  five  and  a  half  to  ten  miles!!"), 
and  sueh  like  theolojrieal  twaddle  evolved  from  priestly  hrains.  But  the 
Ksot(»rie  Philosophy  toaehes  that  thoujrh  for  the  lufoa  for  the  time  beinfr. 
everything:  or  everyone  preserves  its  form  (as  in  a  dream),  yet  as 
Rupadhatu  is  a  purrhi  mental  region,  and  a  state,  the  Efjos  themselves 
have  no  form  outside  tluMr  own  eonseiousuess.  Esotericism  divides  this 
"refrion"  into  seven  T")hyanas.  "reprions"',  or  states  of  contemplation, 
which  are  not  localities  hut  mental  represi-ntatives  of  these.  Arupadhatu  -. 
this  "refiion"  is  a^'ain  divided  into  .seven  Dhyana.s,  still  more  al)stra<-t 
and  forndess.  for  this  "World"  is  without  any  form  or  (h-sire  whatever. 
It  is  tiu^  hijrhe.st  rejrion  of  the  post  mortem  Trailokya  ;  and  as  it  is  the 
abode  of  tho.se  who  are  almost  ready  for  Nirvana,  and  is.  in  fact,  the 
very  threshold  of  the  Nirvanie  state,  it  stands  to  reason  that  in  Arupad- 
hatu (or  Arupavachara)  there  can  be  neither  form  nor  sensation,  nor 
iiny  r.cliim  eoiiiieeted  with  our  three  dimensional  Universe. 

Trees  of  Life.  Fi-om  the  hifxhest  antiquity  trees  were  connected  with 
the  prods  and  mystical  forces  in  nature.  Every  nation  had  its  sacred 
tree,  with  its  peculiar  characteristics  and  attributes  based  on  natural, 
and  al.so  occasionally  on  occult  jiroperties,  as  expounded  in  the  esoteric 
teachinjrs.  Thus  tile  jieepid  or  Ashrattha  of  India,  the  abode  of  Pitris 
(elementals  in  fact)  of  a  lower  order,  became  the  Bo-tree  or  fieus 
reliqiosa  of  the  Buddhists  the  world  over.  sinc(»  Gautama  Buddha  reache(l 
the  hifrhest  knowledfrf  and  Nirvana  un<ler  such  a  tree.  The  a.sh  tret-. 
Yfijrdrasil.  is  the  world-tree  of  the  Norsemen  or  Scandinavians.  The 
banyan  tree  is  the  symbol  of  spirit  and  matter,  descendin":  to  the  earth. 
strikin«2:  root,  and  then  re-ascendiufr  heavenward  apiin.  The  triple- 
leaved  palaso  is  a  symbol  of  the  triple  essence  in  the  Universe — Spirit, 
Soul.  Matter.  The  dark  cypress  was  the  world-tree  of  ^lexico,  and  is 
now  with  the  Cliristians  aiid  ]\Iahomedans  the  emblem  of  death,  of  ])eaei' 
and  rest.  The  fir  was  held  sacred  in  E*rypt,  and  its  cone  was  carried  in 
reliprious  j)roce.ssions.  thoutrh  now  it  has  almost  disappeared  from  the 
land  of  tJH"  mummies;  so  ahso  was  the  .sycamore,  the  tamarisk,  the  ])alm 
and  the  vine.  The  sycamore  was  the  Tree  of  Life  in  pjgypt,  and  also  in 
AssvTia.  It  was  sacred  to  Ilathor  at  Ileliopolis;  and  is  now  sacred  in 
the  same  place  to  the  Virprin  ^lai-y.  Its  juice  was  precious  by  virtue  of 
its  occult  powers,  as  the  Soma  is  with  Bralnnans,  and  Ilaoma  with  the 
Parsis.  "The  fruit  and  sap  of  the  Tree  of  Life  bestow  immortality." 
A  larpre  volume  miprht  be  written  upon  these  sacred  trees  of  antiquity, 
the  reverence  for  some  of  which  has  survived  to  this  day.  without 
exhaustinp:  the  subject. 

Trefoil    Tjke   th<-   Irish   sliamroek.   it    has   a   svmbolic   meanin<i,   "the 


GLOSSARY  313 

thrco-iii-ono  mystery"  as  an  author  calils  it.  It  crowned  the  liead  of 
Osiris,  and  the  wreatli  fell  off  when  Typlion  killed  the  radiant  jrod.  Some 
see  in  it  a  pliallie  sifrriificanee.  but  we  deny  this  idea  in  Occultism.  Tt 
was  the   plant   of   Spirit.   Soul   and   Life. 

Treta  Yuga  fSk.).  The  second  aprc  of  tin-  world,  a  pi-riod  of 
1  .'JfKi.OOO  years. 

Triad,  or  the  Thnr.  The  ten  Sephiroth  are  contemplated  as  a  proup 
of  three  triafls :  Ketlier,  C'hochmah  and  Binah  form  the  supernal  triad: 
Ohesed.  Geburah  and  Tiphereth.  the  .second ;  and  Xetzach,  Ilod  and 
Yesod,  the  inferior  triad.  The  tenth  Sephira.  ^Malkuth.  is  beyond  the 
three  triads,    [w.w.w.] 

The  above  is  orthodox  Western  Kabalah.  Eastern  Occultists  recopr- 
nise  but  one  triad — the  upper  one  (correspondiufr  to  Atma-Buddhi  and 
the  "Envelope''  which  reflects  their  lijrht,  the  three  in  one) —  and  count 
seven  lower  Sephiroth.  every  one  of  wliich  stands  for  a  "principle", 
begrinninp:  with  the  Ilifrher  Manas  and  ending:  with  the  Physical  Body — 
of  which  ^Malkuth  is  the  representative  in  the  Microcosm  and  the  Earth 
in  file  ^Facrocosm. 

Tri-bhuvana,  or  Tri-loka  (Sk.).  The  three  worlds — Swarga,  Bhiimi. 
Patfila — or.  Heaven,  Eartli.  and  Hell  in  popular  beliefs;  esoterically. 
these  are  the  Spiritual  and  Psychic  (or  Astral)  regions,  and  the  Terres- 
trial sphere. 

Tridandi  (Sk.).  The  name  jrenerally  given  to  a  class  or  sect  of 
Sanyasis.  wlio  constantly  keep  in  the  liand  a  kind  of  club  (danda) 
branching  off  into  three  rods  at  the  top.  The  word  is  variou.sly  ety- 
mologized, and  some  give  the  name  to  the  triple  Brahmanical  thread. 

Tri-dasha  (Sk.).  Three  times  ten  or  "thirty".  This  is  in  round 
riuiiil)crs  the  sum  of  the  Indian  Pantlieon — the  thirty-thn'e  crorrs  of 
deities — the  twelve  Adityas.  tiie  eight  Vasus,  the  eleven  Rudras  and  the 
two  Ashvins.  or  thirty-tJin r   kotis,  or  330  millions  of  gods. 

Trig^nas  (Sk.).  The  three  divisions  of  the  inherent  qualities  of  dif- 
ferentiated matter — i.e.,  of  pure  quiescence  (satva),  of  activity  and  de- 
sire (rnjaa),  of  stagnation  and  decay  (tnnias).  They  corresjiond  with 
Vishnu,  Brail lua.  and  Shiva.     (See  "Trimurti".") 

Trijnana,  fSk.).  Lit.,  "triple  knowledge".  This  consists  of  three 
degrees:  (1)  l)elief  on  faith  ;  (2)  belief  on  theoretical  knowledge  ;  and  (3) 
belief  through  personal  and  practical  knowledge. 

Trikaya  (Sk.).  Lit.,  three  bodies,  or  forms.  This  is  a  most  abstruse 
teaching  which,  however,  once  understood,  explains  the  mystery  of 
every  triad  or  trinity,  and  is  a  true  key  to  every  three-fold  metaphysical 
symbol.  In  its  most  simple  and  comprehensive  form  it  is  found  in  the 
human  Entity  in  its  triple  division  into  spirit,  soul,  and  body,  and  in 
the  universe,  regai'ded  jtantheistically.  as  a  unity  compo.sed  of  a  Deific. 
purely  spiritual  Principle.  Supernal  lieings — its  direct  rays — and 
Humanity.     The  origin   of  this  is   fctund    in   the   teachings  of  the  pre- 


:n  1  THi:nr;()i'ni«  \i. 

Iii.st»)rif  \\  ImIoiu  lv<li<^'ioii.  or  Msntti-ic  I'liihisiipiiN .  Tin-  ^Taiid  I'aiitlu' 
istif  i<l»'al.  of  tli»>  uiikiiowii  ami  unkii(t\val)lr  Essnicf  iM-iiifr  transforinctl 
first  into  subject iv«'.  and  tlu'ti  into  olijictiv*-  iiiattiT,  is  at  tin-  root  of  all 
tlitso  triads  ami  triplets.  Tlnis  W(>  find  in  pldlosopliical  N(»rtli»'rn  Budd- 
liisrn  (!>  Adi-liutldlia  i  or  Primordial  Univtrs;tl  Wisdom  1  ;  (^2^  tin- 
Dyliani-Buddhas  (or  Hodiiisattvas'l  ;  {',\)  the  Manuslii  (Human  i  Hnddlias. 
In  Kuropran  conceptions  \vc  find  tlio  same:  ftod.  Anpcls  and  Ilnmanity 
symholi/cd  tlicolo<ri(*ally  by  tlio  Ciod-Man.  The  Rralimanical  Trimurti 
and  also  the  three-fold  body  of  Shiva,  in  Shaivism.  have  both  Iwen  con- 
ceived on  the  same  basis,  if  not  altojrether  ninnin«r  on  the  lims  of  Esoteric 
teachinps.  Hence,  no  wonder  if  one  finds  this  conception  of  the  trii)le 
body — or  the  vestun-s  of  Xirmanakaya,  Samltho<^akaya  and  Dliarmakaya. 
the  {grandest  of  the  doctrines  of  Esoteric  Philosophy — accc|)ted  in  a 
more  or  lcs.s  disHfrured  form  by  every  rclifrious  .sect,  and  explained  q\iit< 
incorrectly  by  the  Orientalists.  Thus,  in  its  prencral  application,  the 
three-fold  body  synd)oli/.es  Huddhas  statue,  his  teachinjrs  and  his  stupas  : 
in  the  priestly  conceptions  it  applies  to  the  Tiuddhist  ])rofession  of  faith 
called  the  Trirntun,  which  is  the  formula  of  takinpr  "refu}r<»  in  Buddha. 
Dharnia.  and  Sanfrha".  Popular  fancy  makes  I^uddha  ubicpiitous. 
placing:  him  thereby  on  a  i)ar  with  an  anthropomorphic  pod,  and  lowering 
him  to  the  level  of  a  tribal  deity ;  and.  as  a  result,  it  falls  into  flat  contra- 
dictions, as  in  Tilx't  and  (^hiiui.  Thus  the  exoteric  doctrine  seems  to 
teai'h  that  while  in  his  Xirmanakaya  body  (which  passed  throufrh  100.000 
hods  of  transformations  on  earth "i,  he.  Buddha,  is  at  the  same  time  a 
Loehaiui  fa  heavenly  Dhyani-Bodhisattva),  in  his  Sambhofrakaya  "robe 
of  absolute  completeness",  and  in  Dliyana.  or  a  state  which  must  cut  him 
otT  from  the  world  and  all  its  coiuieetions ;  and  fiiudly  and  lastly  he  is. 
besides  beinfr  a  Xirmanakaya  and  a  Sambhofjakaya,  also  a  Oharmakaya 
"of  absolute  purity'',  a  Vairotehana  or  Dhyani-Buddha  in  full  Xirvana ! 
(See  Eitel's  Sanskn't-Chinrst  Dictionarif.)  This  is  the  jumble  of  con- 
tradictions, impossible  to  reconcile,  which  is  piven  out  by  missionaries 
and  certain  Orieiitidists  as  the  philusophuuil  do<rmas  of  Xorthern  Bu«ld- 
hism.  If  not  an  intentional  confusion  of  a  philosophy  dreaded  In-  th<' 
upholders  of  a  reli<;i<)n  based  on  inextricable  contradictions  and  fruarded 
"mysteries",  then  it  is  the  jtroduet  of  ignorance.  As  the  Trailokya.  the 
Trikaya.  and  the  Triratna  are  the  three  aspects  of  the  same  conceptions, 
and  have  to  be,  .so  to  say,  blended  in  one,  the  subjeet  is  further  explained 
under  each  of  these  terms.  'See  also  iji  this  relation  the  term  "Tfi 
sharana".  i 

Tri-kuta  a^h-.).  Lit.,  "three  |)eaks".  The  mountain  on  which  Lanka 
(modern  (,'eylon)  and  its  city  were  built.  It  is  said,  allefrorieally,  to  be 
a  mountain  ranpe  running  south  from  Meru.  And  so  no  doubt  it  was 
before  Lanka  was  submerged,  leavinpr  now  but  the  highest  summits  of 
that  ranpre  out  of  the  waters.  Siibmarine  toi)o<rrai)hy  and  peolopical 
formation  must  have  considerably  chan«red  since  the  Miocene  period. 
There  is  H  leprnd  to  the  effect  that  Vayu,  the  pod  of  the  wind,  brok- 


GLOSSARY  315 

tlic  sumiiiit  otV  .\I«rii  and  cast  it  into  tlit-  sea.  wluTi'  it  fort li with  iK^caine 
Lanka. 

Trilcohana  (SI,-.).  Lit.,  "tlirce-cycd".  an  cpitln-t  of  Shiva.  It  is  nar- 
rafid  that  whih-  the  prod  was  cnfraficd  one  day  on  a  Iliniahiyan  summit 
in  ri<;id  austerities,  liis  wife  placed  her  hand  lovinjrly  on  his  third  oye, 
which  burst  from  Shiva's  foreliead  with  a  frreat  tlame.  Tliis  is  the  eye 
which  reduced  Kama,  the  god  uf  lov<  (as  Mara,  the  tempter),  to  ashes, 
for  tryinpr  to  insj)ire  him  durinjr  his  devotional  meditation  with  thoufrhts 
of  his  wife. 

Trimurti  ^s7.■.j.  Lit.,  "three  faces",  or  "triple  form"— the  Trinity. 
In  the  modern  Pantheon  these  three  persons  are  Brahma,  the  creator, 
Vishnu,  the  preserver,  and  Shiva,  the  destroyer.  But  this  is  an  after- 
thoufrht,  as  in  the  Vcdaa  neither  Brahma  nor  Shiva  is  known,  and  the 
Vedic  trinity  consists  of  A{;ni,  Vayu  and  Surya ;  or  as  the  yiruktn 
explains  it,  the  terrestrial  fire,  the  atmospheric  (or  aerial^,  and  the 
heavenly  fire,  since  Ajrni  is  the  jrod  of  fire,  Vayu  of  the  air.  and  Surya 
is  the  .sun.  As  the  Fadma  Purana  has  it:  "In  the  befrinninpr,  the  preat 
Vi.shnu,  desirous  of  creating:  the  whole  world,  became  threefold:  creator, 
preserver,  destroyer.  In  order  to  produce  this  world,  the  Supreme 
Spirit  emanated  from  the  riprht  side  of  his  body,  himself,  as  Brahma: 
then,  in  ordei-  to  preserve  the  universe,  lie  produced  from  the  left  side  of 
his  body  Vishnu:  and  in  order  to  destroy  the  world  he  i)roduced  from  the 
middle  of  his  body  the  eternal  Sjiiva.  Some  worship  Brahma,  .some 
A^'ishnu,  others  Shiva;  but  Vishnu,  one  yet  threefold,  creates,  preserves, 
and  destroys,  therefore  let  the  pious  make  no  difference  between  the 
three."  The  fact  is  that  all  the  three  "persons"  of  the  Trimurti  are 
simply  the  three  qualificative  .r/j/;m.<f  or  attributes  of  the  universe  of  dif- 
ferentiated Spirit-Matter,  self-formative,  self-preservinjr  and  self- 
destroyinjr.  for  j)urposes  of  re*reneration  and  perfectibility.  This  is  the 
correct  nieaninjr:  and  it  is  shown  in  Hrahma  being  made  the  personified 
embodiment  of  Iidjuninui,  tiie  attribute  or  (juality  of  activity,  of  desire 
for  procreation,  that  desire  owin«!:  to  which  the  universe  and  ever\thinf; 
in  it  is  called  into  beinpr.  Vishnu  is  the  embodied  Saitva{juna,  that 
property  of  preservation  arising  from  quietude  and  restful  enjoyment, 
which  characterizes  the  intermediate  period  betwecm  the  full  growth  and 
the  beginning  of  decay;  while  Shiva,  being  embodied  TamiKjuna — which 
is  the  attribute  of  stagnancy  and  final  decay— becomes  of  course  the 
destroyer.  This  is  as  highly  ])hil(isopliical  under  its  mask  of  anthropo- 
morphism, as  it  is  unphiloso|)liical  and  absurd  to  hold  to  and  enforce  on 
the   world  the  drail  Irttel'  of  tile  original   coilce|»tion. 

Trinity.  Everyone  knows  the  Christian  dogma  of  the  "three  in  one" 
and  "one  in  three;  therefore  it  is  useless  to  repeat  that  which  may  be 
foun<l  in  every  catechism.  Athanasius.  the  Church  Father  who  defined 
the  Trinity  as  a  dogma,  had  little  necessity  f)f  <lrawing  uj)on  inspiration 
or  his  own  brain  power;  he  had  but  to  turn  to  one  of  the  innumerable 
trinities  of   the   heathen   ci-eeds.   or   to   the    Egyptian    ]iriests.    in   whose 


316  THKoSol'lIlrAL 

eouiitn  In-  liad  lived  all  his  life.  He  iiKidilifd  sliy:litly  (»iil_\  oin-  dl"  tlif 
three  "persons".  All  the  triads  of  tlif  Ociitilrs  wt-rt'  composed  of  the 
Father,  Mother  and  the  Son.  By  niakinjjr  it  "Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost",  lie  ehanfjed  the  d()<rnia  only  outwardly,  as  the  Holy  Ghost  had 
always  been  feminine,  and  Jesus  is  made  to  address  the  Holy  Ghost  as 
his  "mother''  in  every  Gncstic  Gosi)el. 

Tripada  (Sk.).  "Three-footed'',  fever,  personified  as  haviiijr  three 
ftft  or  stajres  of  develo]>ment — eold,  heat  ami  sw(>at. 

Tripitaka  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "three  baskets";  tiie  naiii<-  of  th.-  iiuddhist 
canon.  It  is  composed  of  three  divisions:  (1)  the  doctrine;  (2"*  the 
rules  and  laws  for  the  jjriesthood  and  ascetics:  ('.])  tlie  i)hilosoplucal 
<lissertations  and  nu'taphysics:  to  wit.  the  Abhidharma.  defined  by 
Buddhajrhosa  as  that  law  (dharma)  which  jroes  beyond  (ahhi)  the  law. 
The  Abhidharma  contains  the  most  i>rofoundl.v  metaphysical  and  phil- 
osophical teachinfrs.  and  is  the  store-house  whence  the  IMahayana  and 
Ilinayana  Schools  jrot  their  fundamental  doctrines.  There  is  a  fourth 
division — the  Saniijakfa  Pifaka.  But  as  it  is  a  later  addition  ])y  the 
('hine.se  Buddhists,  it  is  not  accepted  by  the  Southern  Church  of  Siam 
and  Ceylon. 

Triratna,  or  l-iatttatrand  (Sk.).  The  Tiiree  Jewels,  the  technical  term 
for  the  Well-known  formula  "Buddha.  Dharma  and  Saufrha"  (^or 
Samjjha^  the  two  latter  terms  meaninjr,  in  modern  interpretation,  "re- 
liprious  law"  (Dharma),  and  the  "priesthood"'  (Sangha).  Esoteric 
Philosophy,  however,  would  refrard  this  as  a  very  loose  rendering.  The 
words  "Buddha,  Dharma  and  Sanjrha",  ought  to  be  ])rononnced  as  in  the 
days  of  Gautama,  the  Lord  Buddha  namely  "Bodhi.  Dharma  and 
Sangha":  and  inter])retcd  to  nieaii  "Wisdom,  its  laws  and  ]iriests''.  tlw 
latter  in  the  .sense  of  "spiritual  exponents'',  or  adepts.  Buddha,  jiow- 
ever.  being  regarded  as  i)er.sonified  "Bodhi"  on  earth,  a  true  avatar  of 
Adi-Buddha.  Dharma  gradually  came  to  be  regarded  as  his  own  par- 
ticular law,  and  Sangha  as  his  own  special  priesthood.  Nevt-rtheless. 
it  is  the  profane  of  the  later  (now  modern)  teachings  who  have  .shown  a 
greater  degree  of  natural  intuition  than  the  actual  interj)reters  of 
Dharma.  the  Buddhist  i)ri<\sts.  The  people  see  the  Triratna  in  the  three 
statues  of  Am])itabha,  Avalokiteshvara  and  ^Maiti-eya  Buddha;  i.e.,  in 
"Boundless  Light"  or  Univer.Sid  Wisdom,  an  impersonal  princijile 
which  is  the  correct  meaning  of  Adi-Buddha:  in  the  "Supreme  Lord" 
of  the  Bodhisattvas,  or  Avalokiteshvara;  and  in  ^Maitreya  Buddha,  the 
symbol  of  the  terrestrial  and  human  Buddha,  the  "^Manushi  Buddha". 
Thus,  even  though  the  uninitiated  do  call  these  three  statues  "the 
Buddhas  of  the  Past  the  Present  and  the  Future",  still  everv-  follower 
of  true  philo.wphical  Buddhism — called  "atheistical"  by  Mr.  Eitel — 
would  explain  the  tei*m  Triratna  correctl}-.  The  philosojiher  of  the 
Yogficharya  School  would  say — as  well  he  could — "Dharma  is  not  a 
person  but  an  unconditioned  and  underived  entity,  combining  in  itself 
the  spiritual  and  material  principles  of  the  universe,  whilst  from  Dharma 


GLOSSARY  317 

procecd.'d.  bv  .Mnanation.  Hud.lha  ['reflected'  Bodhi  rather],  as  tl..- 
creative  ener'f'v  whicli  produe.-d,  in  oonjiiuetion  with  Dharma.  the  third 
factor  in  the  "trinity,  viz.,  'Samgha",  wliich  is  the  comprehensive  sum 
total  of  all  real  life.""'  Samp:ha,  then,  is  not  and  cannot  he  that  which  it 
is  now  understood  to  be,  namely,  the  actual  "priesthood":  for  the  latt.-r 
is  not  the  sum  total  of  all  real  life,  but  only  religious  life.  Tlie  real 
primitive  significance  of  the  word  Samgha  or  "Sangha'  applies  to  the 
Arhats  or  Bhikslius,  or  the  "initiates",  alone,  that  is  to  say  to  the  real 
exponents  of  Dliarma— the  divine  law  and  wisdom,  comin?  to  them  as  a 
reflex  light  from  tlie  one  "boundless  light".  Such  is  its  phdoxophicol 
meanincr!  And  vet,  far  from  satisfying  the  scholars  of  th.-  AV.st.-rn 
races  this  seems"  onlv  to  irritate  them :  for  E.  J.  Eitel,  of  Hongkong, 
remarks,  as  to  the  above:  "Thus  the  dogma  of  a  Triratna.  originating 
from  three  primitive  articles  of  faith,  and  at  one  time  culminating  in  tlit- 
conception  of  three  persons,  a  trinity  in  unity,  has  degenerated  into  a 
metaphysical  theory  of  the  <  volution  of  three  alstract  principles"!  And 
if  one  of  tlie  ablest  European  scholars  will  sacrifice  every  philosophical 
ideal  to  gro.ss  anthropomorphism,  then  what  can  Buddhism  with  its 
subtle  meUiphysics  expect  at  the  hands  of  ignorant  missionaries? 

Trisharana  (Sk.).    The  same  as  "Triratna"  and  accepted  by  both  th-- 
Northern  and  Southern  Churches  of  Buddhism.    After  the  death  of  th.- 
Buddha  it  was  adopted  bv  the  councils  as  a  mere  kind  of  formulajidn. 
enjoining  "to  take  refuge  in  Buddha",  "to  take  refuge  m  Dharma    .and 
"to  take  refuge  in  Sangha"".  or  his  Church  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is 
now  interpreted;  but  it  is  not  in  this  sense  that  the  "Light  of  Asia 
would  have  taught  the  formula.    Of  Trikaya,  Mr.  E.  J.  Eitel.  of  Hong- 
kong   tells  us  in  his  Handbook  of  Chinese  Buddism  that  this  '  tricho- 
tomism  was  taught  with  regard  to  the  nature  of  all  Buddhas.     Bodhi 
beiu'^  the  characteristic  of  a  Buddlia""— a  distinction  was  made  between 
"es^ntial  Bodhi"'  as  the  attribute  of  tlie  Dharmakaya.  i.e..  "essential 
body":    "reflected    Bodhi""    as    the    attribute    of    Sambhogakaya :    and 
"practical  Bodhi"  as  the  attribute  of  Nirmanakaya.   Buddha  combining 
in  himself  these  three  conditions  of  existence,  was  said  to  be  living  at 
the  same  time  in  three  different  spheres.    Now,  this  shows  how  greatly 
misunderstood  is  the   purely  pantheistical   and  philosophical   teaching. 
Witliout  sto])ping  to  enquire  how  even  a  Dharmakaya  vesture  can  liave 
any   "attribute"   in   Nirvana,   which   .state    is   shown,   in   phdosophical 
Brahmanism  as  much  as  in  Buddhism,  to  be  absolutely  devoid  of  any 
attribute  as  conceived  by  human  finite  thought— it  will  be  sufficient  to 
point  to  the  following:— (1)   the  Nirmanakaya  vesture  is  preferred  by 
the  "Buddhas  of  Compassion"  to  that  of  the  Dharmakaya  state,  pre- 
cisely because  the  latter  precludes  him  who  attains  it  from  any  com- 
munication or  relation  with  the  finite,  i.e.,  with  humanity  ;  (2)  it  is  not 
Buddha    ((4autama.   the-  mortal   man.   or   any   other   personal   Buddha^ 
who  lives  ubiquitously  in  "three  different  spheres,  at  the  Siime  tiim-    . 
but  Bodhi,  the  universal  and  ab.stract  i)rincii)le  of  divine  wisdom,  sym- 
])olised  in  philosoi)hv  hv  Adi-Buddha.     It  is  the  latter  that  is  ubuiuitous 


318  THEOSOPHIi  Al. 

l)ecause  it  is  tlu'  universal  essence  or  principle.  It  is  Budhi,  or  tiu- 
Spirit  of  Buddliaship,  whicli,  having  resolved  itself  into  its  primordial 
honiofreneoiis  essence  and  merged  into  it,  as  Brahma  (the  universe) 
nuTges  into  Parahrahm.  the  absoluteness — that  is  meant  under  the 
name  of  "essential  Rodlii".  For  the  Nirvanee.  or  Dhyani-Huddha. 
must  l)e  supposed — hy  livinp^  in  Arupadliatu.  the  formless  state,  and 
in  Dharmakaya — to  Ix'  that  "essential  PxkIIu"  itself.  It  is  the  Dhyani 
Bodliisattvas,  the  primordial  rays  of  the  universal  Bodhi.  who  live  in 
"retleeted  Bodhi"  in  Kupadliatu.  or  the  world  of  suhjrctive  "forms"; 
and  it  is  the  Nirmanakuyas  (plural)  who  upon  ceasing  their  lives  of 
"practical  Bodhi",  in  the  "enlightened"  or  Buddha  forms,  remain  vol- 
untarily in  the  Kamadhatu  (tlir  world  of  desire),  whether  in  ohjectivc 
forms  on  earth  or  in  suhjectivc  states  in  its  sphere  (the  second  Buddhak- 
sliutra).  This  they  do  in  order  to  watch  over,  protect  and  help  mankind. 
Thus,  it  is  neither  one  Buddha  who  is  meant,  nor  any  i)articular  avatar 
of  tlie  collective  Dhyani  Buddhas,  hut  verily  Adi-Bodhi — the  first  Logos, 
whose  primordial  ray  is  IMahahuddhi,  the  Universal  Soul,  Alaya,  whose 
flame  is  uhiquitous,  and  whose  influence  has  a  different  sphere  in  each  of 
the  three  forms  of  existence,  because,  once  again,  it  is  Vnivcrsal  Being 
itself  or  the  reflex  of  the  absolute.  Ilenee.  if  it  is  philosophical  to  speak 
of  Bodhi.  which  "as  Dhyani  Buddha  rules  in  the  domain  of  the  spiritual" 
(fourth  Buddhakslietra  or  rrgion  of  Buddha)  :  and  of  tlic  Dliyaiii  Bodiii- 
sattvas  "ruling  in  the  third  Buddhakshetra"  or  the  domain  of  ideation; 
and  even  of  the  Manushi  Buddhas,  who  are  in  the  second  Buddhakshetra 
as  Nirmanakayas — to  apply  the  "idea  of  a  unity  in  trinity"  to  three 
personalities — is  highly  unphilosophical. 

Trishna  fSJ:.).     The  fourth  Nidana ;  spiritual  love, 

Trishula  (Sic).    The  trident  of  Shiva. 

Trisuparna  (Sk.).  A  certain  portion  of  the  Veda,  after  thoroughly 
studying  wliich  a  Brahman  is  also  called  a  Trisuparna  . 

Trithemius.  An  abbot  of  the  Spanheim  Benedictines,  a  very  learned 
Kabbalist  and  adept  in  the  Secret  Sciences,  the  friend  and  instructor 
of  Cornelius  Agrippa. 

Triton  (Gr.).  The  son  of  Poseidon  and  Amphitrite,  whose  body  from 
the  waist  upwards  was  that  of  a  man  and  whose  lower  limbs  were  those 
of  a  dolphin.  Triton  belongs  in  esoteric  interpretation  to  the  groui> 
of  fish  symbols — such  as  Oannes  (Dagon),  the  Matsya  or  Fish-avatar, 
and  the  Pisces,  as  adopted  in  the  Chri-stian  symbolism.  The  dolphin  is  a 
constellation  called  by  the  Greeks  Capricornus,  and  the  latter  is  the 
Indian  Makara.  It  has  thus  an  anagrammatical  significance,  and  its  in- 
terpretation is  entirely  occult  and  mystical,  and  is  known  only  to  the 
advanced  students  of  Esoteric  Philosophy.  SufTice  to  say  that  it  is  as 
physiological  as  it  is  .spiritual  and  mystical.  (See  Secret  Doctrine  II., 
pp.  578  and  579.) 

Trividha   Dvara    (Sk.).     Lit.,  the   "three   gates",   which   are   body, 


GLOSSAKY  319 

month,  and  mind  :  r»r  pnrity  of  body,  purity  of  speech,  purity  of  thoufrht 
— tlu'  thiTt'  virtues  requisite  for  becoming  a  Buddha. 

Trividya  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "the  three  knowledg-es"  or  sciences''.  These 
are  the  three  fundamental  axioms  in  mysticism: — (a)  the  impermanency 
of  all  existence,  or  Anitija;  (h)  suffering  and  misery  of  all  that  lives  and 
is,  or  Dukha;  and  (c)  all  physical,  objective  existence  as  evanescent  and 
unreal  as  a  Avater-bubble  in  a  dream,  or  Andtma. 

Trivikrama  (Sk.).  An  epithet  of  Vislinu  used  in  the  Rig  Veda  in  re- 
lation to  the  "three  steps  of  Vishnu".  The  first  step  he  took  on  earth, 
in  the  form  of  Agni ;  the  second  in  the  atmosphere,  in  tlie  form  of  Vayu, 
god  of  the  air;  and  the  third  in  the  sky,  in  the  shape  of  Sdrya,  the  sun. 

Triyana  fSk.).  "The  three  vehicles"  across  Sansara — the  ocean  of 
births,  deaths,  and  rebirths — are  the  vehicles  called  Sravaka.  Pratjfcka 
Buddha  and  Bodhimttva.  or  the  three  degrees  of  Yogaship.  The  term 
Triyana  is  also  used  to  denote  the  three  schools  of  mysticism — the 
Maiiayana,  ]\Iadhyimayana  and  Hinayana  schools;  of  wliich  the  first 
is  the  "Greater",  the  second  the  "Middle",  and  the  last  the  "Lesser" 
Vehicle.  All  and  every  system  between  the  Greater  and  the  Lesser 
Vehicles  are  considered  "useless".  Therefore  the  Pratyeka  Buddha 
is  made  to  correspond  with  the  Madhyimayana.  For,  as  explained,  "this 
(the  Pratyeka  Buddha  state)  refers  to  him  who  lives  all  for  himself 
and  very  little  for  others,  occupying  the  middle  of  the  vehicle,  filling 
it  all  and  leaving  no  room  for  others".  Such  is  tlie  selfish  candidatt- 
for  Nirvana. 

Tsanagi-Tsanami  (Jap.).    A  kind  of  creative  god  in  Japan. 

Tsien-Sin  (Chin.).  The  "Heaven  of  Mind",  Universal  Ideation  and 
Mahat.  wiicn  applied  to  the  plane  of  differentiation:  "Tien-Sin"  (q.v.) 
when  referring  to  the  Absolute. 

Tsien-Tchan  (Ch.).    The  universe  of  form  and  matter. 

Tsi-tsai  (Chin.).  The  "Self-Existent"  or  the  "Unknown  Darkness", 
the  root  of  Wuliang  Shcu,  "Boundless  Age",  all  Kal)balistic  terms,  which 
were  used  in  China  ages  before  the  Hebrew  Kabbalists  adopted  them, 
borrowing  tliem  from  Chaldea  and  Egypt. 

Tubal-Cain  (Hch.).  The  Biblical  Kabir,  "an  instructor  of  every 
artificer  in  brass  and  iron",  the  son  of  Zillali  and  Lamech ;  one  with  the 
Greek  Heplui'Stos  or  Vulcan.  His  brother  Jubal,  the  son  of  Adali  and  the 
co-uterine  brother  of  Jabal,  one  the  father  of  those  "wlio  handle  the 
harp  and  organ",  and  the  other  the  father  "of  such  as  have  cattle",  are 
also  Kabiri :  for,  as  shown  b}-  Strabo,  it  is  the  Kabiri  (or  Cyclopes  in 
one  sense)  who  made  the  harp  for  Kronos  and  the  trident  for  Poseidon, 
while  some  of  their  other  brothers  were  instructors  in  agriculture.  Tubal- 
Cain  (or  Thubal-Cain)  is  a  word  used  in  the  Master-!Mason's  degree  in 
the  ritual  and  ceren'ionics  of  the  Freemasons. 

Tullia  (Lat,).  A  daughter  of  Cicero,  in  whose  tomb,  as  claimed  by 
several  alchemists,  was  found  burning  a  perpetual  lamp.  ]ilaced  there 
more  than  a  tliousand  years  previously. 


320  TIIEOSOPIircAT. 

Turn,  or  Toom.  The  "Brotliors  of  tlie  Turn",  a  very  ancient  scliool 
of  Initiation  in  Nortliern  India  in  the  days  of  Buddhist  persecution.  The 
"Turn  B'hai"  have  now  become  tlie  "Aum  B'hai",  spelt,  however,  dif- 
ferently at  i)re.sent.  both  schools  liavinpr  nierjjed  into  one.  The  first  was 
<-()niposed  of  Kshatriyas,  tlie  second  of  lirahmans.  The  word  "Turn" 
has  a  double  nieanin*]:.  that  of  darkness  (absolute  darkness),  which  as 
absolute  is  hij^rher  than  the  hijjhest  and  purest  of  lifrhts,  and  a  sense 
restinj:  on  the  mystical  {rreetinj;  amon^  Initiates,  "Thou  art  thou,  thy- 
self", c(|uivalent  to  sayin<?  "Thou  art  one  with  the  Infinite  and  tiie  AH'". 

Turiya  (Sk.).  A  state  of  the  deepest  trance — the  fourth  state  of  the 
Taraka  Raja  Yo<ra,  one  that  corresponds  witli  Atma,  and  on  this  earth 
with  (hrntnh  ss  sleep — a  causal  condition. 

Turiya  Avastha  (Sk.).  Almost  a  Nirvanic  state  in  Samadhi,  which 
is  itself  a  beatilie  state  of  the  contemplative  Yoga  beyond  this  plane. 
A  condition  of  the  hijjher  Triad,  quite  distinct  (thouprh  still  insepar- 
able) from  the  conditions  of  Jar/rat  (wakinjr),  Svapna  (dreaming),  and 
Sushvpti  (slee])ing). 

Tushita  A  cla.ss  of  gods  of  great  purity  in  the  Hindu  Pantheon.  In 
exoteric  or  popular  Northern  Buddhism,  it  is  a  Deva-ioka,  a  celestial 
region  on  the  material  plane  where  all  the  Bodhisattvas  are  reborn,  before 
the>-  descend  on  this  earth  as  future  Buddhas. 

Tyndarus  (Gr.).  King  of  Lacedannon,  the  fabled  hus])aii(l  of  Leda. 
the  mother  of  Castor  and  Pollux  and  of  Helen  of  Troy. 

Tjrphaeus  (Gr.).  A  famous  giant,  who  had  a  hundred  heads  like  those 
of  a  serpent  or  dragon,  and  w^ho  was  the  reputed  father  of  the  Winds, 
as  Siva  was  that  of  the  iMaruts — also  "winds".  He  made  war  against 
the  gods,  and  is  identical  witli  the  Egyptian  Typhon. 

Typhon  (Eg.).  An  aspect  or  shadow  of  Osiris.  Typhon  is  not,  as 
Plutarch  asserts,  the  distinct  "Evil  Principle"  or  the  Satan  of  the  Jews; 
but  rather  the  lower  cosmic  "principles"  of  the  divine  body  of  Osiris, 
the  god  in  tliem — Osiris  being  personificnl  universe  as  an  ideation,  and 
Typhon  as  that  same  universe  in  its  material  realization.  The  two  in 
f)ne  are  Vishnu-Siva.  The  true  meaning  of  the  P]gyptian  myth  is  that 
Typhon  is  the  terrestrial  and  material  envelope  of  Osiris,  who  is  the 
indwelling  spirit  thereof.  In  chapter  42  of  the  Ritual  ("Book  of  the 
Dead"),  Typhon  is  described  as  "Set,  formerly  called  Thotli".  Orien- 
talists find  themselves  greatly  perplexed  by  discovering  Set-Typhon 
addressed  in  some  papyri  as  "a  great  and  good  god",  and  in  others  as 
the  embodiment  of  evil.  But  is  not  Siva,  one  of  the  Hindu  Trimurti, 
described  in  some  places  as  "the  best  and  most  bountiful  of  gods",  and 
at  other  times  "a  dark,  black,  destroying,  terrible"  and  "fierce  god"? 
Did  not  Loki,  the  Scandinavian  Typhon,  after  haviyg  been  described  in 
earlier  times  as  a  beneficent  being,  as  the  god  of 'fire,  the  presiding  genius 
of  the  peaceful  domestic  hearth,  suddenly  lose  caste  and  become  forth- 
with a  power  of  evil,  a  cold-hell  Satan  and  a  demon  of  the  wonst  kind? 
There  is  a  good  n^ason  for  such  an  invariable  transformation.     So  long 


GLOSSARY  321 

as  these  dual  f^ods,  symbols  of  good  and  necessary  evil,  of  light  aud 
darkness,  kt'cj)  closely  allied,  i.e.,  stand  for  a  combination  of  differen- 
tiated human  qualities,  or  of  the  element  they  represent — they  are  simply 
an  embodiment  of  the  average  personal  god.  No  sooner,  however,  are 
they  separated  into  two  entities,  each  with  its  two  characteristics,  than 
they  become  respectively  the  two  opposite  poles  of  good  and  evil,  of 
light  and  darkness ;  they  become  in  short  two  independent  and  distinct 
entities  or  rather  personalities.  It  is  only  by  dint  of  soj)histry  that  the 
Churches  have  succeeded  to  this  day  in  preserving  in  the  minds  of  the 
few  the  Jewish  deity  in  his  primeval  integrity.  Had  they  been  logical 
they  would  have  separated  Christ  from  Jehovah,  light  and  goodness 
from  darkness  and  badness.  And  this  was  what  happened  to  Osiris- 
Typhon ;  but  no  Orientalist  has  understood  it,  and  thus  their  perplexity 
goes  on  increasing.  Once  accepted — as  in  the  case  of  the  Occultists — 
as  an  integral  part  of  Osiris,  just  as  Ahriman  is  an  inseparable  part  of 
Ahura  Mazda,  and  the  Serpent  of  Genesis  the  dark  aspect  of  the  Elohini. 
blended  into  our  "Lord  God" — every  difficulty  in  the  nature  of  Typhon 
disappears.  Typhon  is  a  later  name  of  Set,  later  but  ancient — as  early 
in  fact  as  the  fourth  Dynasty ;  for  in  the  Ritual  one  reads :  "0  Typhon- 
Set!  I  invoke  thee,  terrible,  invisible,  all-powerful  god  of  gods,  thou 
who  destroyest  and  renderest  desert".  Typhon  belongs  most  decidedly 
to  the  same  symbolical  category  as  Siva  the  Destroyer,  and  Saturn — 
the  "dark  god".  In  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  Set,  in  his  battle  with  Thoth 
(wisdom) — who  is  his  spiritual  counterpart — is  emasculated  as  Saturn- 
Kronos  was  and  Ouranos  before  him.  As  Siva  is  closely  connected  with 
the  bull  Nandi — an  aspect  of  Brahma-Vishnu,  the  creative  and  preserving 
powers — so  is  Set-Typhon  allied  with  the  bull  Apis,  both  bulls  being 
sacred  to,  and  allied  with,  their  respective  deities.  As  Typhon  was 
originally  worshipped  as  an  upright  stone,  the  phallus,  so  is  Siva  to  this 
day  represented  and  worshipped  as  a  liugham.  Siva  is  Saturn.  Indeed. 
Tj'phon-Set  seems  to  have  served  as  a  prototype  for  more  than  one  god 
of  the  later  ritualistic  cj'cle,  including  even  the  god  of  the  Jews,  some 
of  his  ritualistic  observances  having  passed  bodily  into  the  code  of  laws 
and  the  canon  of  religious  i-ites  of  the  "chosen  people".  Who  of  the 
Bible-worshi])pers  knows  the  origin  of  the  scape-goat  (ez  or  aza)  sent 
into  the  wilderness  as  an  atonement?  Do  they  know  mat  ages  befon^ 
the  exodus  of  Moses  the  goat  was  sacred  to  Typhon.  and  that  it  is  over 
the  head  of  that  Typhonic  goat  that  the  Egyptians  confessed  their  sins, 
after  which  the  animal  was  turned  into  the  desert?  "And  Aaron  .shall 
take  the  scapegoat  (Azazel)  ....  and  lay  his  hands  upon  the 
head  of  the  live  goat,  anel  eo)if(ss  ov(  r  hint  all  thi  iniquities  of  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  .  .  .  and  shall  send  him  away  .  .  .  into  the  wilder- 
ness" (Levit.,  xvi.).  And  as  the  goat  of  the  Egyptians  made  an  atone- 
ment with  Typhon,  so  tiie  goat  of  the  Israelites  "made  an  atonement 
before  the  Lord"  (Ihid.,  v.  10).  Thus,  if  one  only  remembers  that  every 
anthropomorphic  creative  god  was  with  the  philosophical  ancients  the 
"Life-giver"    and    the    "Death-dealer"- — Osiris    and    Typlion,    Ahura 


322  TIIEOSOl'HICAL 

Mazda  and  Ahriniaii.  etc.,  etc. — it  will  he  easy  for  him  to  eoinpn-lii'iid 
the  assertion  made  by  the  Occultists,  that  Tyi)hon  was  but  a  symbol 
for  tile  lower  quaternary,  the  ever  conflicting  and  turbulent  princii)les  of 
differentiated  chaotic  matter,  whether  in  the  T'liiver.se  or  in  Man,  while 
Osiris  symbolized  the  higher  spiritual  triad.  Tyhpon  is  accused  in  thi- 
Ritual  of  l)eing  one  who  "steals  reason  from  tlie  soul".  Hence,  he  is 
shown  lighting  with  Osiris  and  cutting  him  into  fourteen  (twice  seven  > 
pieces,  after  which  left  without  his  couunterbalaneing  power  of  good  and 
light,  he  remains  steeped  in  evil  and  darkness.  In  this  way  the  fable  told 
by  Plutarch  becomes  comprehensible  as  an  allegory.  He  asserts  that, 
overcome  in  liis  fight  with  Horus,  Typhon  "fled  seven  days  on  an  ass, 
and  escainng  begat  the  boys  lerosolumos  and  loudaios".  Now  as 
Typhon  was  worshipped  at  a  later  period  under  tiie  form  of  an  ass.  and 
as  the  name  of  the  ass  is  AO,  or  (phonetically)  lAO,  the  vowels  mimick- 
ing the  braying  of  the  animal,  it  becomes  evident  that  Typhon  was 
purpo.sely  blended  with  the  name  of  the  Jewish  God.  as  the  two  names 
of  Judea  and  Jerusalem,  begotten  by  Typhon — sufficiently  imply. 

Twashtri  (Sk.).  The  same  as  Vishwakarman,  "the  divine  artist", 
the  carpenter  and  weapon-maker  of  the  gods.     (See  "Vishwakarman".) 

Tzaila  (Tleh.).  A  rib;  see  Genesis  for  the  myth  of  the  creation  of  the 
first  woman  from  a  rib  of  Adam,  the  first  man.  It  is  curious  that  no 
other  myth  describes  anything  like  this  "rib"  process,  except  the  He- 
brew Bible.  Other  similar  Hebrew  words  are  "Tzela,  a  "fall",  and 
Tzelem,  "the  image  of  God".  Inman  remarks  that  the  ancient  Jews 
were  fond  of  punning  conceits,  and  sees  one  here — that  Adam  fell,  on 
account  of  a  woman  whom  God  made  in  his  image,  from  a  fall  in  the 
man's  side,      [w.w.w.] 

Tzelem  (Hch.).  An  image,  a  shadow.  The  shadow  of  the  physical 
body  of  a  man,  also  the  astral  body — Linga  Shartra.    (See  "Tzool-mah".  > 

Tzim-tzum  (Kah.).  Expansion  and  contraction,  or,  as  some  Kabba- 
lists  exj)lain  it — "the  centrifugal  and  centripetal  energy"". 

Tziruph  (Hch.).  A  set  of  combinations  and  permutations  of  tlie 
Hebrew  letters,  designed  to  show  analogies  and  preserve  secrets.  For 
example,  in  tlie  form  called  Atbash,  A  and  T  were  substitutes,  B  and 
Sh.  G  and  R,  etc.      [w.w.w.] 

Tzool-mah  (Kah.)  Lit.,  "shadoAv".  It  is  stated  in  the  Zohar  (I.. 
218  a,  I.  fol.  117  a,  col.  466.),  that  during  the  last  seven  nights  of  a  man's 
life,  the  Neshamah,  his  spirit,  leaves  him  and  the  shadow,  tzool-mah. 
acts  no  longer,  his  body  casting  no  shadow;  and  when  the  tzool-mah 
disappears  entirely,  then  Ruach  and  N(i)hesh — the  soul  and  life — go  with 
it.  It  has  been  often  urged  that  in  Kabbalistic  pliiloso])hy  there  were 
but  three,  and,  with  the  Body,  Guff,  four  "principles".  It  can  be  easily 
shown  there  are  seven,  and  several  subdivisions  more,  for  there  are  the 
"upper"  and  the  "lower"  Neshamah  (the  dual  Manas)  ;  Ruach.  Spirit  or 
Buddhi ;  Nephesh  (Kama)  which  "has  no  light  froin  her  own  substance", 
but  is  associated  with  the  Guff,  Body;  Tzelem,  "Phantom  of  the  Image"; 


OLOSSAEY  323 

and  D'yooknah,  Shadow  of  the  Pliantom  Image,  or  Mdydvi  Rupa.  Then 
come  the  Zurath,  Prototypes,  and  Tdb-nooth,  Form;  and  finally,  Tzurah, 
"the  highest  Principle  (Atman)  which  remains  above",  etc.,  etc.  (See 
]\[yer's  Qabhalali,  pp.  400  ci.  seq.) 

Tzuphon  (Ileh.).  A  name  for  Boreas,  the  Northern  Wind,  wliich 
some  of  the  old  Israelites  deified  and  worshipped. 

Tzurah  (Heh.).  The  divine  prototype  in  the  Kahhalah.  In  Ooenltism 
it  embraces  Atma-Buddhi-]\Ianas,  the  Highest  Triad;  the  eternal  divine 
Individual.    The  plural  is  tzurath. 

Tzure  (Heh.).  Almost  the  same  as  the  above:  the  prototype  of  the 
"Image"  tzelem;  a  Kabbalistic  term  used  in  reference  to  the  so-called 
creation  of  the  divine  and  the  human  Adam,  of  which  the  Kahala  (or 
Kahhalah)  lias  four  types,  agreeing  with  the  root-races  of  men.  The 
Jewish  Occultists  knew  of  no  Adam  and,  refusing  to  recognise  in  the 
^rst  human  race  Humanity  with  its  Adam,  spoke  only  of  "primordial 
sparks". 


324  TlIKDSoi'iiir'AL 


U. 


u. 


—The  twenty-first  letter  of  the  Latin  alpiiabet,  whieli  has  no  equiva- 
lent in  Hebrew.    As  a  number,  however,  it  is  considered  very  mystical 
botii  by  the  Pythajjoreans  and  the  Kabbalists,  as  it  is  the  product  of 
3X7.     The  latter  consider  it  the  most  sacred  of  the  old  numbers,  as 
21  is  the  sura  of  the  numerical  value  of  the  Divine  Name  arir,  or  cira,  or 
apraiii  nh<  ihc — /hus  (read  backward,  ahrihr)-. 
he     i     he     a 
5+10+5+1=21. 
In  Alchemy  it  symbolizes  the  twenty-one  days  necessary  tor  tlic  trans- 
mutation of  baser  metals  into  silver. 

Uasar  (Eg.).  The  same  as  Osiris,  the  latter  name  being  Greek.  Uasar 
is  described  as  the  "Efr?-born",  like  Brahma.  "He  is  the  egg-spmnjr 
Eros  of  Aristophanes,  whose  creative  energy  brinjjs  all  thingrs  into  ex- 
i.stence ;  the  demiurge  who  made  and  aninuites  the  world,  a  being  who  is 
a  sort  of  personification  of  Amen,  the  invisible  god,  as  Dionysos  is  a 
link  between  mankind  and  the  Zeus  Hypsistos"  (The  Grrnt  Dioniisiuk 
Myth,  Brown).  Isis  is  called  Vasi,  as  she  is  the  SakU  of  Osiris,  liis 
female  aspect,  both  symbolizing  the  creating,  energising,  vital  forces  of 
nature  in  its  aspect  of  male  and  female  deity. 

Uchchaih-Sravas  (Sl\).  The  model-horse;  one  of  the  fourte»'n  i)n'('ioU'> 
things  or . jeMels  produced  at  the  Churning  of  the  Ocean  by  the  gods. 
The  white  horse  of  Indra,  called  the  Raja  of  horses. 

Uchanicha,  also  Buddhochmcha  (Sk.j.  Explained  as  "a  protuber- 
ance on  Buddha's  cranium,  forming  a  hair-tuft".  This  curious  descri])- 
tion  is  given  by  the  Orientalists,  varied  by  another  which  states  that 
Uchnicha  was  "originally  a  conical  or  flame-shaped  hair  tuft  on  th<' 
crown  of  a  Buddha,  in  later  ages  represented  as  a  fleshly  excrescence  on 
the  skull  it.self".  This  ought  to  read  quite  the  reverse;  for  esoteri*- 
philosophy  would  say:  Originally  an  orb  with  the  third  eye  in  it,  which 
degenerated  later  in  the  human  race  into  a  fleshly  protuberance,  to 
disappear  gradually,  leaving  in  its  place  but  an  occasional  flame- 
coloured  aura,  perceived  only  through  clairvoyance,  and  when  the  ex- 
uberance of  spiritual  energ}'  causes  the  (now  concealed  i  "third  eye"* 
to  radiate  its  superfluous  magnetic  power.  At  this  period  of  our  racial 
development,  it  is  of  course  the  "Buddhas"  or  Initiates  alone  who 
enjoy  in  full  the  faculty  of  the  "third  eye",  as  it  is  more  or  less  atrophied 
in  everyone  else. 

Udana  (Sk.).  Extemporaneous  speeches;  also  Sutras.  In  j)hilosophy 
the  term  api)lies  to  the  i)iiysical  organs  of  speech,  .such  as  tongue,  mouth. 


GLOSSARY  325 

voice  etc  In  sacivd  literature  in  general,  it  is  tlie  name  of  those  Sutras 
which  contain  extemporaneous  discourses,  in  distinction  to  the  butras 
that  contain  only,  that  subject  matter  which  is  introduced  by  questions 
put  to  Gautama  the  Buddha  and  his  replies. 

Udayana  fSJ.-.).  Modern  Peshawcr.  "The  classic  laud  of  sornry", 
accord i  11  ji-  to  Hiouen-Thsaiifr. 

Udayana  Raja  (8k.).  A  Kin-  of  Kausambi,  called  Vatsaraja.  who 
was  the  first  to  have  a  statue  of  Buddha  made  before  his  death ;  in  con- 
sequence of  which,  say  the  Roman  Catholics,  who  build  statues  of  :\Iadon- 
nas  and  Saints  at  every  street  corner— he  "became  the  originator  of 
Buddhist  idolatry". 

Udra  Ramaputra  (Sk.).  Udra,  the  son  of  Rama.  A  Brahman  ascetic, 
who  was  for  some  years  the  Guru  of  Gautama  Buddiia. 

Udumbara  (Sk.).  A  lotus  of  gigantic  size,  sacred  to  Buddha:  the 
Kila  Udmnhara  or  "blue  lotus",  regarded  as  a  supernatural  omen  when- 
ever it  blossoms,  for  it  flowers  but  once  every  three  thousand  years.  One 
such  it  is  said,  burst  forth  before  the  birth  of  Gautama,  anotlier,  near 
a  lake  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalayas,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  .lUst  be- 
fore the  birth  of  Tsong-kha-pa,  etc.,  etc.  The  same  is  said  of  the  Udum- 
bara tree  (ficus  glomerata)  because  it  flowers  at  intervals  of  long  cen- 
turies, as  does  also  a  kind  of  cactus,  which  blossoms  only  at  extraordi- 
narv   altitudes  and  opens  at  midnight. 

Ullambana  (Sk.).  The  festival  of  "all  souls",  the  prototype  of  All 
Souls-  Bay  in  Christian  lands.  It  is  held  in  China  on  the  seventh  moon 
annuallv,"when  both  "Buddhist  and  Tauist  priests  read  masses,  to  re- 
lease the  souls  of  those  who  died  on  land  or  sea  from  purgatory,  scatter 
rice  to  feed  Pretas  [thirty-six  classes  of  demons  ever  hungry  and  thirstyj . 

consecrate  domestic  ancestral  shrines recite  Tantras     .     .     . 

accompanied  by  magic  finger-play  (mudra)  to  comfort  the  ancestral 
spirits  of  seven  generations  in  Naraka"  (a  kind  of  purgatory  or  Kama 
Loka)  The  author  of  the  Sanskrit -Chinese  Dictionary  thinks  that  this 
is  the  old  Tibetan  CBhon^  "Gtorma  ritual  engrafted  upon  Confucian 
ancestral  worship,"  owing  to  Dharmaraksha  translating  the  lUamhana 
Sutra  and  introducing  it  into  China.  The  said  Sutra  is  certainly  a 
forgery  as  it  gives  these  rites  on  the  authority  of  Sakyanuini  Buddha, 
and  "supports  it  by  the  alleged  experiences  of  liis  principal  disciples. 
Ananda  being  said  to  have  appeased  Pretas  by  food  ofTerinp  .  But  as 
correctlv  stated  bv  Mr.  P^itel.  "the  whole  theory,  with  the  ideas  of  inter- 
cessory "prayers,  priestlv  litanies  and  requiems,  and  ancestral  worship,  is 
entirely  foreign  to  ancient  and  Southern  Buddhism".  And  to  ^^e 
Northern  too,  if  we  except  the  sects  of  Bliootan  and  Sikkim,  of  the  Bhon 
or  Dugpa  persuasion— the  red  caps,  in  short.  As  the  ceremonies  ot 
All  Saints'  Day,  or  davs,  are  known  to  have  been  introduced  into  China 
in  the  third  centurv  (265-292).  and  as  the  same  Roman  L'atliolic  cere- 
monial and  ritual  for  the  dead,  held  on  November  2nd.  did  not  exist 
in  those  earlv  davs  of  Christianity,  it  cannot  be  the  Chinese  who  bor- 


326  THEOSOPHICAL 

rowed  this  reli{2:ioiis  custom  from  tlic  Latins,  hut   ratlio-  the  latter  wlio 
imitated  the  Molgolians  and  Chinese. 

Uller  (Scand.).  The  god  of  archery,  who  "journe.>'1&  over  the  silvery 
ice-ways  on  skates".  He  is  the  patron  of  the  chase  during  that  period 
when  the  Sun  passes  over  the  constellation  of  Sagittarius;  and  lives  in 
the  "Home  of  the  Light-P]lv«'s''  which  is  in  the  Sun  and  outside  of 
Asgard. 

Ulom  (Phoenic.).  The  intelligible  deity.  The  objective  or  material 
Universe,  in  the  theogony  of  Mochus.  The  reflection  of  the  ever- 
concealed  deity;  the  Pleroma  of  the  Gnostics. 

Ulphilas  (Scand.).  A  schoolman  who  made  a  new  alphabet  for  the 
Goths  in  tlie  fourth  century — a  union  of  Greek  letters  with  the  form  of 
the  runic  alphabet,  since  which  time  the  runes  began  to  die  out  and 
their  secret  was  gradually  lost.  (See  "Runes".)  He  translated  the 
Bible  into  Gothic,  preserved  in  the  Codex  Argenteus. 

Ulupi  (Sk.).  A  daughter  of  Kaura\ya,  King  of  the  Ndgas  in  Patala 
(tiio  nether  world,  or  more  correctly,  the  Antipodes,  America).  Exoter- 
ically.  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  king  or  chief  of  an  aboriginal  tribe  of 
the  Nagas,  or  Nagals  (ancient  adepts)  in  pre-historic  America — Mexico 
most  likely,  or  Uruguay.  She  was  married  to  Arjuna,  the  disciple  of 
Krishna,  whom  every  tradition,  oral  and  written,  shows  travelling  five 
thousand  .years  ago  to  Patala  (the  Antipodes).  The  Puranie  tale  is  based 
on  a  historical  fact.  Moreover,  Ulupi,  as  a  name,  has  a  Mexican  ring  in 
it,  like  "Atlan",  "Alco",  etc. 

Uma-Kanya  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "Virgin  of  Light";  a  title  ill-befitting  its 
possessor,  as  it  was  that  of  Durga  Kali,  the  goddess  or  female  aspect  of 
Siva.  Human  flesh  was  offered  to  her  every  autumn ;  and,  as  Durga,  she 
was  the  patroness  of  the  once  murderous  Thugs  of  India,  and  the  special 
goddess  of  Tantrika  sorcery.  But  in  days  of  old  it  was  not  as  it  is  now. 
The  earliest  mention  of  the  title  "Uma-Kanya"  is  found  in  the  Kcna- 
Upanishad;  in  it  the  now  blood-thirsty  Kali,  was  a  benevolent  goddess, 
a  being  of  light  and  goodness,  who  brings  about  reconciliation  between 
Brahma  and  the  gods.  She  is  Saraswati  and  she  is  Vacli.  In  esoteric 
symbology,  Kali  is  the  dual  type  of  the  dual  soul — the  divine  and  the 
human,  the  light  and  the  dark  soul  of  man. 

Umbra  (Lat.).  The  shadow  of  an  earth-bound  spook.  The  ancient 
Latin  races  divided  man  (in  esoteric  teachings)  into  seven  principles,  as 
did  every  old  system,  and  as  Theosophists  do  now.  They  believed  that 
after  death  Anima,  the  pure  divine  soul,  ascended  to  heaven,  a  place  of 
bliss;  Manes  (the  Kama  Rupa)  descended  into  Hades  (Kama  Loka)  ; 
and  Umbra  (or  astral  double,  the  Linga  Sharlra)  remained  on  earth 
hovering  about  its  tomb,  because  the  attraction  of  physical,  objective  mat- 
ter and  affinity  to  its  earthly  body  kept  it  within  the  places  which  that 
body  had  impressed  with  its  emanations.  Therefore,  they  said  that  noth- 
ing but  the  astral  image  of  tlie  defunct  could  be  seen  on  earth,  and  even 


GLOSSARY  327 

that  faded  out  with  tlie  disintegration  of  the  last  particle  of  the  body 
which  had  been  so  long  its  dwelling. 

Una  (Sk.).    Something  underlying;  subordinate;  secondary  also,  and 
material. 

Undines  (Lat.).    Water  nymphs  and  spooks.     One  of  the  four  prin- 
cipal kinds  of  elemental  spirits,  which  are  Salamanders  (fireV  S,,lpHs 
(air),  Gnomes  (earth),  and  Undines  (water). 
Up'adana  (Sk.).    Material  Cause:  as  flax  is  the  cause  of  linen. 
Upadana  Karanam  (Sk.).    The  material  cause  of  an  effect. 
Upadhi  (Sk.).    Basis;  the  vehicle,  carrier  or  bearer  of  something  less 
material  than  itself:  as  the  human  body  is  the  upadn  of  its  spirit,  ether 
the  upadhi  of  light,  etc.;  a  mould:  a  defining  of  limiting  substance. 
Upadvipas  (Sk.).    The  root  (underlying)  of  islands:  dry  land. 
Upanishad  (Sk.).     Translated  as  ''esoteric  doctrine'',  or  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Vedas  by  the  Veddnta  methods.     The  third  division  of  the 
Vedas  appended  to  the  BrdJimanas  and  regarded  as  %P^^t\°^^f  ,^^"^\^' 
-revealed"  word.     They  are,  however,  as  records,  far  older  than  the 
Brdhmanas-^yhh  the  exception  of  the  two.  still  extant  attached    o  the 
Rig-Veda  of  the  Aitareyins.     The  term  Upamshad  is  explained  h^   the 
Hindu  pundits  as  "that  which  destroys  ignorance,  and  thus  P^od^^ces 
liberation"  of  the  spirit,  through  the  knowledge  of  the  fVrem'J\^''f' 
hidden  truth;  the  same,  therefore,  as  that  which  was  l^^^ted  at  ^>  Jes^?^ 
when  he  is  made  to  say,  "And  ye  shall  know  the  truth    and  the  truth 
shall  make  vou  free"  (John  viii.  32).     It  is  from  these  treatises  of  the 
Upanishads-th.m,elyes  the  echo   of   the   primeval  ^^isdo°i-Religion- 
that    the    Vedanta    system    of    philosophy    has   been    de^^eloped.      (See 
"Vedanta".)     Yet  old  as  the  Vpanishaels  may  be,  the  O/^Jftalists  yll 
not  assign  to  the  oldest  of  them  more  than  an  antiquity  of  600  years  bc 
The  accepted  number  of  these  treatises  is  150,  though  now  no  more  than 
about  twentv  are  left  unadulterated.    They  treat  of  very  abstruse,  meta^ 
physical  questions,  such  as  the  origin  of  the  Universe ;  the  ^^^^ure  and  the 
essence  of  the  Unmanifested  Deity  and  the  manifested  gods;  the  con- 
nection, primal  and  ultimate,  of  spirit  and  matter;  the  universality  of 
mind  and  the  nature  of  the  human  Soul  and  Lgo.  ,^,11,;^^ 

The  Upanishads  must  be  far  more  ancient  than  the  days  of  Buddhism, 
as  thev  show  no  preference  for,  nor  do  they  uphold,  the  superiority  of  he 
Brahmans  as  a  caste.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  ("O^)/^^^"^.,^;;^ '  '^^ 
Kshatriva.  or  warrior  class,  who  are  exalted  in  the  oldest  of  them.  As 
stated  bv  Professor  Cowell  in  Elphinstone  s  Histon,  of  Indm--  the> 
breathe  a  freedom  of  spirit  unknown  to  any  earlier  work  except  theKig- 
Vida  The  great  teachers  of  the  higher  knowledge  and  Brahmans 

are  continuallv  represented  as  going  to  Kshatriya  K^ngs  to  hceo^mhc^- 
pupils."  The  "Kshatriya  Kings"  were  in  the  olden  imes.  like  the 
K  ng-Hierophants  of  Egypt,  the  receptacles  of  the  highest  dn™  k.io.l- 
edge  and  wisdom,  the  Elect  and  the  incarnations  of  the  primordial  duine 
inftructors-the  Dhyani  Buddhas  or  Kumaras.    There  was  a  time,  ^ons 


328  TIIEOSOPHICAL 

bt'foro  the  Braliinaiis  btciiiiif  a  caste,  or  even  the  I'panishads  were  writ- 
ten, when  tliere  was  on  earth  but  one  "lip",  one  reli«rion  and  one 
science,  namely,  the  speech  of  the  {rods,  the  Wisdoni-Relifjion  and  Truth. 
This  was  before  the  fair  fields  of  the  latter,  overrun  by  nations  of  many 
lanjruajres,  became  over<ri'own  with  the  weeds  of  intentional  decejition. 
and  national  creeds  invented  l)y  ambition,  cruelty  and  selfishness,  l)r()ke 
the   one   sacred   Trutii   into  thousands  of  frajrraents. 

Upanita  (Sk.).  One  who  is  invested  with  the  Brahnianieal  llinad  : 
/('/..  "I)roujrht  to  a  spiritual  teacher  or  Guru". 

Uparati  (Sk.).    Absence  of  outgoing  desire;  a  Yoga  state. 

Upasaka  (Sk.).  ]\Iale  chelas  or  rather  devotees.  Those  who  without 
entering  the  priestliood  vow  to  preserve  the  principal  commandments. 

Upasika  (Sk.).  Female  chelas  or  devotees. 

Upasruti  (Sk.).  According  to  Orientalists  a  '" siipcrnatural  voice 
which  is  iieard  at  night  revealing  the  .secrets  of  the  future".  According 
to  the  explanation  of  Occultism,  the  voice  of  any  person  at  a  distance — 
generally  one  versed  in  the  mysteries  of  esoteric  teachings  or  an  adept — 
endowed  with  the  gift  of  projecting  both  his  voice  and  astral  image  to 
any  person  whatsoever,  regardless  of  distance.  The  upasruti  may  "reveal 
the  secrets  of  the  future",  or  may  only  inform  the  person  it  addresses  of 
some  prosaic  fact  of  the  present ;  yet  it  will  still  be  an  upasruti — the 
"double"  or  the  echo  of  the  voice  of  a  living  man  or  woman. 

Upeksha  (Sk.).  Lit.,  Renunciation.  In  Yoga  a  state  of  absolute 
indifference  attained  by  self-control,  the  complete  mastery  over  one's 
mental  and  physical  feelings  and  sensations. 

Ur  (Chald.).  The  chief  seat  of  lunar  worship;  the  Babylonian  cit>- 
where  the  moon  was  the  chief  deity,  and  whence  Abraham  brought  the 
Jewish  god,  who  is  so  inextricably  connected  with  the  moon  as  a  creative 
and  generative  deity. 

Uraeus  (Gr.).  In  Egyptian  Vrhck,  a  serpent  and  a  sacred  symbol. 
Some  see  in  it  a  cobra,  while  others  say  it  is  an  asp.  Cooper  explains 
that  "the  asp  is  not  a  urfeus  but  a  cerastes,  or  kind  of  viper,  i.e.,  a  two- 
horned  viper.  It  is  the  royal  serpent,  wearing  the  pschcnt  .  .  .  the 
naya  hdje."  The  uraeus  is  "round  the  disk  of  Horus  and  forms  the 
ornament  of  the  cap  of  Osiris,  besides  overhanging  the  brows  of  other 
divinities"  (Bonwick).  Occultism  explains  tiuit  the  urfcus  is  the  sym- 
bol of  initiation  and  also  of  hidden  wisdom,  as  the  serpent  always  is. 
The  gods  were  all  patrons  of  the  hierophants  and  tlieir  instructors. 

Uragas  (Sk.).  The  Ndgas  (serpents)  dwelling  in  Patala,  the  nether 
world  or  hell,  in  popular  thought ;  the  Adepts,  High  Priests  and  Initiates 
of  Central  and  South  America,  known  to  the  ancient  Aryans;  where 
Arjuna  wedded  the  daughter  of  the  king  of  the  Ndgas — Ulupi.  Nagalistn 
or  Niiga-worship  prevails  to  this  day  in  Cuba  and  Hayti,  and  Voodooism. 
the  chief  branch  of  the  former,  has  found  its  way  into  New  Orleans.  In 
Mexico  the  chief  ".sorcerers",    the    "medicine  men",  are  called  Nagals 


GLOSSARY  329 

to  this  day ;  just  as  thousands  of  yt-ars  ago  the  Chaldean  and  Assyrian 
High  Priests  were  caHcd  Nargals,  they  being  ehiefs  of  tlie  ]Magi  (Rab- 
Mag),  the  office  held  at  one  time  by  tlie  propliet  Daniel.  The  word  Ndga, 
"wise  serpent",  has  become  universal,  because  it  is  one  of  the  few  w(Jrds 
that  have  survived  the  wreck  of  the  first  universal  language.  In  South 
as  well  as  in  Central  and  North  America,  the  aborigines  use  the  word, 
from  Behring  Straits  down  to  Uruguay,  where  it  means  a  "chief",  a 
"teacher",  and  a  "serpent".  The  very  word  Uraga  may  have  reached 
India  and  been  adopted  tlirough  its  connection,  in  prehistoric  times, 
with  South  America  and  Uruguay  itself,  for  the  name  l)elongs  to  the 
American  Indian  vernacular.  The  origin  of  the  Uragas,  for  all  that  the 
Orientalists  know,  may  have  been  in  Uruguai,  as  there  are  legends  about 
them  which  locate  their  ancestors  the  Nagas  in  Pdtala,  the  antipodes  ,or 
America. 

Uranides  (Gr.).  One  of  the  names  of  the  divine  Titans,  tliose  who 
rebelled  against  Kronos,  the  prototypes  of  the  Christian  "fallen"  angels. 

Urim  (Hcl.).  See  "Thummim".  The  "Urim  and  Thummim"  origi- 
nated in  Egypt,  and  symbolized  the  Two  Truths,  the  two  figures  of  Ba 
and  Thmci  being  engraved  on  the  breastplate  of  the  Hierophant  and 
worn  by  him  during  the  initiation  ceremonies.  Diodorus  adds  that  this 
necklace  of  gold  and  precious  stones  was  worn  by  the  High  Priest  when 
delivering  judgment.  Thme  (plural  Thmin)  means  "Truth"  in  Hebrew. 
"The  Septuagint  translates  thummim,  as  Truth''  (Bonwick).  The  late 
Mr.  Proctor,  tlie  astronomer,  shows  the  Jewish  idea  "derived  directly 
from  the  Egyptians".  But  Philo  Judaeus  affirms  that  Urim  and  Thum- 
mim were  "the  two  small  images  of  Revelation  and  Truth,  put  between 
the  double  folds  of  the  breastplate",  and  passes  over  the  latter,  with 
its  twelve  stones  typifying  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  without  ex- 
planation. 

Urlak  (Scand.).  The  same  as  "Orlog"  (q.v.).  Fate;  an  impersonal 
power  bestowing  gifts  "blindly"  on  mortals;  a  kind  of  Nemesis. 

Urvasi  (Sk.).  A  divine  nymph,  mentioned  in  the  Rig-Vcda,  whose 
beauty  set  the  whole  heaven  ablaze.  Cursed  by  the  gods  she  descended 
to  earth  and  settled  there.  The  loves  of  Pururavas  (the  Vikrama),  and 
the  nymph  Urvasi  are  the  subject  of  Kalidasa's  world-famous  drama, 
the  Vikra7n orv asi. 

Usanas  (Sk.).  The  planet  Venus  or  Sukra ;  or  rather  the  ruler  and 
governor  of  that  planet. 

Ushas  (Sk.).  The  dawn,  the  daughter  of  heaven;  the  same  as  the 
Aurora  of  the  Latins  and  the  >7t')$  of  the  Greeks.  She  is  first 
mentioned  in  the  Vedas,  wherein  her  name  is  also  Ahand  and  Dyotand 
(the  illuminator),  and  is  a  most  poetical  and  fascinating  image.  She  is 
the  ever-faithful  friend  of  men,  of  rich  and  poor,  though  she  is  believed 
to  prefer  the  latter.  She  smiles  upon  and  visits  the  dwelling  of  every 
living  mortal.  She  is  the  immortal,  ever-youthful  virgin,  the  light  of  the 
poor,  and  the  destroyer  of  darkness. 


330  THEOSOPHICAL 

Uttara  Mimansa  (Sk.).  The  second  of  the  two  Mimausas — the  first 
being  Purva  (lirst)  Mimansa,  which  form  respectivel.y  the  fifth  and 
sixtli  of  the  Darshanas  or  schools  of  pliih)sopliy.  The  Mimansa  are  in- 
cluded in  the  generic  name  of  Ycddnta,  though  it  is  the  Uttara  (by 
Vyasa)  which  is  really  the  Vcddnta. 

Uzza  (He}).).  The  name  of  an  angel  who,  together  with  Azrael,  op- 
I)()sed,  as  the  Zohar  teaches,  the  creation  of  man  by  the  P^lohim,  for 
which  the  latter  annihilated  both. 


GLOSSARY  331 


V. 

v.— The  twenty-second  letter  of  the  Latin  alphabet.  Numerically  it 
stands  for  5 ;  hence  the  Roman  V  (with  a  dash)  stands  for  5,000.  The 
Western  Kabbalists  have  connected  it  with  the  divme  Hebrew  name 
IHVH  The  Hebrew  Vai(,  however,  bein^  number  6,  it  is  only  by  being 
identical  with  the  W,  that  it  can  ever  become  a  proper  symbol  for  the 
male-female,  and  spirit-matter.  The  equivalent  for  the  Hebrew  Van  is 
YO,  and  in  numerals  6. 

Vach  (Sk.).  To  call  Vach  "speech"  simply,  is  deficient  in  clearness. 
Vach  is  the  mystic  personification  of  speech,  and  the  female  ior;o.s,  being: 
one  with  Brahma,  who  created  her  out  of  one-half  of  his  body,^ which  he 
divided  into  two  portions ;  she  is  also  one  with  Viraj  (called  the  female 
Virai)  who  was  created  in  her  by  Brahma.  In  one  sense  Vach  is 
"speech"  by  which  knowledge  was  taught  to  man;  m  another  she  is 
the  "mvstic,  secret  speech"  which  descends  upon  and  enters  into  the 
primeval  Rishis,  as  the  "tongues  of  fire"  are  said  to  have  sat  upon 
the  apostles.  For,  she  is  called  "the  female  creator",  the  mother  of 
the  Vedas'\  etc.,  etc.  Esoterically,  she  is  the  sub.iective  Creative  Force 
which,  emanating  from  the  Creative  Deity  (the  subjective^  Universe,  its 
"privation",  or  ideation)  becomes  the  manifested  "world  of  speech  i.e., 
the  eoncrete  expression  of  ideation,  hence  the  "Word"  or  Logos.  Vach  is 
"the  male  and  female"  Adam  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  and  thus 
called  "Vach-Viraj"  by  the  sages.  (See  Atharva  Veda.)  She  is  also 
"the  celestial  Saraswati  produced  from  tlie  heavens'  ,  a  voice  derived 
from  speccliless  Brahma"  (Mahahharata) ;  the  goddess  of  wisdom  and 
eloquence.    She  is  called  Sata-rupa,  the  goddess  of  a  hundred  forms. 

Vacuum    (Lai.).     The   symbol   of   the   absolute   Deity   or   Boundless 
Space,  esoterically. 

Vahana  (8k.).  A  vehicle,  the  carrier  of  something  immaterial  and 
formless.  All  the  gods  and  goddesses  are,  tlierefore,  represented  as 
using  vdhanas  to  manifest  themselves,  which  vehicles  are  ever  symbolical. 
So,  for  instance,  Vishnu  has  during  Pralayas.  Ananta  the  infinite 
(Space),  symbolized  by  the  serpent  Sesha,  and  during  the  Manvantaras 
—Garuda  tlie  gigantic  half-eagle,  half-man,  the  symbol  of  the  great 
cvcle;  Brahma  appears  as  Brahma,  descending  into  the  planes  of  mani- 
festations on  Kalahamsa,  the  "swan  in  time  or  finite  eternity  ;  femi 
(phonet,  Shiva)  appears  as  the  bull  Nandi;  Osiris  as  the  sacred  bull 
Apis;  Indra  travels  on  an  elephant ;  Karttikeya  on  a  peacock ;  Kamac  eva 
on  Makdra,  at  other  times  a  parrot ;  Agni,,  the  universal  (and  also  solar) 
Fire-god,  wlio  is,  as  all  of  them  are,  "a  consuming  Fire    ,  manifests 


332  TIIKOSUl'llMAI, 

itself  as  a  rain  and  a  lamb,  Ajd,  "the  uiilxirn";  \'ai-una.  as  a  (isli ;  etc.. 
•  •to.,  wliilf  the  vt'liieli'  of  ^Ian  is  his  body. 

Vaibhachikas  (Sk.).  Tho  followers  of  llic  Vihhdcha  Shdstro,  an 
ancient  school  of  niatt-rialisin ;  a  phil()so])hy  that  lield  tiiat  no  mental 
concept  can  be  formed  except  throiijrh  diivct  contact  between  the  mind. 
via  the  senses,  such  as  sight,  touch,  taste,  etc.,  and  external  objects. 
'ri)('r(>  are  Viabhachikas,  to  this  day  in  India. 

Vaidhatra  (Sk.).    The  same  as  the  Kuuiaras. 

Vaidyuta  (Sk.)  .  Electric  fire,  the  same  as  Pdvaka,  one  of  tlie  tlirce 
lires  which,  divided,  i)rodnce  forty-nine  mystic  fires. 

Vaihara  (Sk.).  The  name  of  a  cave-temple  near  Rajagriha,  whereinto 
the  Lord  Buddha  usually  retired  for  meditation. 

Vaijayanti  (Sk.).  The  magic  necklace  of  Vishiui,  imitated  by  certain 
Initiates  among  the  temple  Bralimans.  It  is  made  of  tive  precious  stones, 
eacii  symbolizing  one  of  the  tive  elements  of  our  Round;  namely,  the 
pearl,  ruby,  emerald,  sapphire  and  diamond,  or  water,  fire,  earth,  air 
and  ether,  called  "the  aggregate  of  the  five  elemental  rudiments" — 
the  word  "powers"  being,  perhaps,  more  correct  than  "rudiments". 

Vaikhari  Vach  (Sk.).    That  which  is  uttered;  one  of  the  four  forms 

of  .speech. 

Vaikuntha  (Sk.).  One  of  the  names  of  the  twelve  great  gods,  whence 
Vaikunthaloka  the  abode  of  Vishnu. 

Vairajas  (Sk.).  In  a  poj^ular  belief,  semi-divine  beings,  shades  of 
.saints,  inconsumable  by  fire,  impervious  to  water,  who  dwell  in  Tapo- 
loka  with  the  hope  of  being  translated  into  Satya-loka — a  more  purified 
state  which  answers  to  Nirvana.  The  term  is  explained  as  the  aerial 
bodies  or  astral  shades  of  "ascetics,  mendicants,  anchorites,  and  peni- 
tents, who  have  completed  their  course  of  rigorous  austerities".  Now 
in  esoteric  philo.sophy  they  are  called  Nirmdnakdijas,  Tapo-loka  being  on 
the  sixth  plane  (upward)  but  in  direct  communication  with  the  mental 
plane.  The  Vairajas  are  referred  to  as  the  first  gods  because  the  Mdnasa- 
putras  and  the  Kunidras  are  the  oldest  in  theogony,  as  it  is  said  that  even 
the  gods  woi*shipped  them  (Matsya  Purdna) ;  those  whom  Brahma  '"with 
the  eye  of  Yoga  beheld  in  the  eternal  spheres,  and  w^ho  are  the  gods  of 
gods"  f'Vtnju  Purdna). 

Vairochana  (Sk.).  "All-enlightening".  A  mystic  symbol,  or  rather 
a  generic  personification  of  a  class  of  spiritual  beings  described  as  the 
embodiment  of  essential  wisdom  (hodhi)  and  absolute  purity.  They 
dwell  in  the  fourth  Arupa  Dhdtu  (formless  world)  or  Buddhakshetra, 
and  are  the  first  or  the  higliest  hierarchy  of  the  five  orthodox  Dhyani 
Buddlias.  There  was  a  Srumana  (an  Arhat)  of  this  name  (see  Eitel's 
Sansk.  Chin.  Diet.),  a  native  of  Kashmir,  "who  introduced  Buddliism 
into  Kustan  and  laboured  in  Tibet"  (in  the  seventh  century  of  our  era). 
He  was  the  best  translator  of  the  semi-esoteric  Canon  of  Northern  Bud- 
dhism, and  a  contemporary  of  the  great  Samautabhadra  (q.v.). 


GLOSSARY  333 

Vaisakha  (Sk.).  A  ei^ebrated  female  ascetic,  boru  at  Sravasti,  and 
called  Sudatta.  "virtuous  donor".  She  was  the  mother-abbess  of  a 
Vihara,  or  convent  of  female  Upasikas,  and  is  known  as  the  builder  of 
a  Vihara  for  Sakyamuni  Buddha.  She  is  regarded  as  the  patroness  of 
all  the  Buddhist  female  ascetics. 

Vaisheshika  (Sk.).  One  of  the  six  Darshanas  or  schools  of  philosophy, 
founded  by  Kanada.  It  is  called  the  Atomistic  School,  as  it  teaches  the 
existence  of  a  universe  of  atoms  of  a  transient  character,  an  endless 
number  of  souls  and  a  tixed  number  of  material  principles,  by  the 
correlation  and  interaction  of  which  periodical  cosmic  evolutions  take 
place  without  any  directing  Force,  save  a  kind  of  mechanical  law  in- 
herent ill  tlie  atoms;  a  very  materialistic  school. 

Vaishnava  (Sk.).  A  follower  of  any  sect  recognising  and  worshipping 
Vishnu  as  the  one  supreme  God.  The  worshippers  of  Siva  are  called 
Sniras. 

Vaivaswata  fSk.).  TJu^  name  of  the  Seventh  :\Iauu,  the  forefather  of 
tlie  post-diluvian  race,  or  our  own  fifth  humankind.  A  reputed  son  of 
Surya  (the  Sun),  he  became,  after  having  been  saved  in  an  ark  (bui^t  by 
the  order  of  Vishnu)  from  the  Deluge,  the  father  of  Ikshwaku.  the 
founder  of  the  solar  race  of  kings.     (See,  "Suryavansa",) 

Vajra  fSk.).  Lit.,  "diamond  club""  or  sceptre.  In  the  Hindu  M'orks 
tlie  scepter  of  Indra,  similar  to  the  thunderbolts  of  Zeus,  with  wliich 
this  deity  as  the  god  of  thunder,  slays  his  enemies.  But  in  mystical 
Buddhism,  the  magic  sceptre  of  Priest-Initiates,  exorcists  and  adepts — 
the  symbol  of  the  possession  of  Siddhis  or  superhuman  powers,  wielded 
during  certain  ceremonies  by  the  priests  and  theurgists.  It  is  also  the 
symbol  of  Buddha  "s  power  over  evil  spirits  or  elementals.  The  pos- 
sessors of  this  wand  are  called  Vajrapnni  (q.v.). 

Vajracharya  (Sk..)  The  spiritual  acharya  (guru,  teacher)  of  the 
Yogricharyas.    The  "Supreme  j\Iaster  of  the  Vajra". 

"Vajradhara  (Sk.).  The  Supreme  Buddha  with  the  Northern  Biid- 
dhists. 

Vajrapani  (Sk.),  or  Manjushri,  the  Dliyani-Bodhisattva  (as  the 
spiritual  reflex,  or  the  son  of  the  Dhyani-Buddhas,  on  earth)  born  di- 
rectly from  the  subjective  form  of  existence ;  a  deity  worshipped  by  the 
profane  as  a  god,  and  by  Initiates  as  a  subjective  Force,  the  real  nature 
of  whicli  is  known  only  to.  and  explained  by,  the  highest  Initiates  of  tin- 
Yogaeliarya  St-liool. 

Vajrasattva  (Sk.)  The  name  of  the  sixth  Dhyaui-Buddha  (of  whom 
there  arc  but  five  in  the  popular  Northern  Buddhism) — in  the  Yoga- 
charya  school,  the  latter  counting  seven  Dliyaiii-Buddhas  and  as  many 
Bodliisattvas — the  "mind-sons"  of  the  former.  Hence,  the  Orientalists 
i-efcr  to  Vajrasattva  as  "a  fictitious  Bodhisattva". 

Vallabacharya  (Sk.).  The  name  of  a  mystic  who  was  the  chela 
(disciple)  of  Vishnu  Swami,  and  the  founder  of  a  sect  of  Vashnavas.  His 


334  THEOSOrillCAL 

descendants  aii-  calltil  (Joswanu  Maliaraj.  and  liavf  niu«'h  landed  j»roj)- 
trty  and  nnimrons  mandirs  (temples  in  Horabay.  Tin  y  have  degenerated 
into  a  slianu't'nlly  liet'ntious  sect. 

Viimana  (Sic).  The  fifth  avatar  ol'  Vishnu,  hiiic.'  the  name  of  th«' 
|)\v;irt'  whosi'  form  was  assumed  l>y  that  god. 

Vara  (Mazd.).  A  term  used  in  the  Veiididdd,  whert-  Ahura-mazda 
eommands  Yinni  to  build  Vara.  It  also  sifrnifit-s  an  enelosure  or  vehicle, 
an  ark  (arrjha),  and  at  the  same  time  i^l an  (versr  30).  Vara  is  the 
vehicle  of  our  informing  Etjus,  i< .,  /he  human  liody.  the  soul  in  which  is 
typified  by  the  txpression  a  "window  self-shining  within'*. 

Varaha  (SI,-.).    The  boar-avatar  of  Vishnu;  the  third  in  number. 

Varna  (Sk.).  Caste;  lit.,  "colour"'.  The  four  chief  ca.stes  named 
t»y  Manu — the  lirnlnniu  Kshatri\a.  Vaisya  ami  Sudra — are  called 
(liatiir-rarna. 

Varsha  (Sk.).  A  rr^imi.  a  i)lain;  any  strt'teli  of  country  situated 
brfwirii  the  great  mountain-ranges  of  the  earth. 

Varuna  fSk.).  '*The  god  of  water,  or  marine  god.  but  far  diflferent 
from  Neptune,  for  in  the  case  of  this  oldest  of  the  Vedic  deities,  Water 
means  the  "Waters  of  Space",  or  the  all-investing  .sky,  Akasa,  in  one 
.sense.  Varuna  or  Ouaroona  (phonetically),  is  certainly  the  prototype  of 
the  Oiiruitos  of  the  Greeks.  As  ]\ruir  says:  "The  grandest  eosmical 
functions  are  aseribed  to  Varuna.  Possessed  of  illimitable  knowledge 
.  .  .  .  he  upholds  heaven  and  earth,  he  dwells  in  all  worlds  as 
sovereign  ruler.  .  .  .  lie  made  the  golden  .  .  .  sun  to  shine  in 
the  firmament.  The  wind  which  resounds  through  the  atmosphere  is  liis 
breath.  .  .  .  Through  the  operation  of  his  laws  the  moon  walks  in 
brightness  and  the  stars  .  .  .  mysteriously  vanish  in  daylight.  He 
knows  the  Hight  of  birds  in  the  sky,  the  patlis  of  shijis  on  the  ocean,  the 
course  of  the  far  travelling  wind,  and  beholds  all  the  things  that  have 
been  or  shall  be  done.  .  .  .  He  witnesses  men's  truth  and  false- 
hood, lie  instructs  the  Rishi  Vasishta  in  my.stcries;  but  his  secrets  and 
these  of  ^litra  are  not  to  be  revealed  to  the  fooli.sh."  .  .  .  "The 
attributes  and  functions  ascribed  to  Varuna  impart  to  his  character  a 
moral  elevation  and  sanctity  far  surpassing  that  attributed  to  any  other 
Vedic  deity." 

Vasishta  (Sk.).  One  of  the  primitive  seven  great  Rishis,  and  a  most 
eehluati  (1  Vedic  sage. 

Vasudeva  (Sk.).  The  fatlur  of  Krishna.  He  belonged  to  the  Yadava 
branch  of  the  Somavansa,  or  lunar  race. 

Vasus  (Sk.).  The  eight  evil  deities  attendant  upon  Iiulra.  Per.soni- 
tied  cosmic  phenomena,  as  their  names  show. 

Vayu  (Sk.).  Air:  the  god  and  sovereign  of  the  air;  one  of  the  five 
states  of  matter,  namely  the  ffas(  ous;  one  of  the  five  elements,  called,  as 
wind,  Vdta.  The  Vishnu  rurdna  makes  Vayu  King  of  the  Gandharvas. 
He  is  the   father  of  Ilanuman,  in  the  lidrndyoixi.     TIh'  trinity  of  the 


GLOSSARY  335 

mystic  j;od.s  in  Kusmos  eloseh'  related  to  each  otlu-r,  are  "Agiii  (fire) 
whose  place  is  on  earth ;  Vavu  (air,  or  one  of  the  forms  of  Indra),  whose 
place  is  in  the  air;  and  Surya  (the  sun)  whose  place  is  in  the  air". 
(Nirukta.)  In  esoteric  interpretation,  these  three  cosmic  principles, 
correspond  witli  tlie  three  ImiiKin  principles,  Kama,  Kama-Manas  and 
]\ranas,  tlie  sun  of  the  intellect. 

Vedana  (Sk.).  Th(i  second  of  the  five  Skondhas  (perceptions,  senses). 
Th(^  sixth  Nidana. 

Vedanta  (Sk.).  A  mystic  system  of  philo.sophy  wliieh  has  developed 
from  the  efforts  of  {generations  of  sajres  to  interpret  the  secret  meaninp: 
of  the  IJpani^lKuh  (q.v.).  It  is  called  in  the  Shad-Dorshonas  (six  schools 
or  systems  of  demonstration).  TJitara  Mhnnnaa.  attril)uted  to  Vyasa.  the 
compiler  of  the  Vfdas.  who  is  thus  referred  to  as  the  founder  of  the 
Vedanta.  The  orthodox  Hindus  call  Vedanta — a  terni  meanin<r  literally 
the  "end  of  all  (Vedic)  knowledge" — Brahma- jnana,  or  pure  and  spirit- 
ual knowled<re  of  Brahmri.  Even  if  we  accept  the  late  dates  assiprned  to 
various  Sanskrit  scliools  and  treatises  by  our  Orientalists,  the  Vedanta 
miLst  be  3,300  years  old  as  Vyasa  is  said  to  have  lived  1.400  years  B.C. 
If,  as  Elphinstone  has  it  in  his  Hisforif  of  India,  the  Brdhniatias  are  the 
Talmud  of  the  Hindus,  and  the  V(das  the  Mosaic  books,  then  the 
Vedanta  may  be  correctly  called  the  Kahalah  of  India.  But  liow  vastly 
more  grand!  Sankaracharya,  who  was  the  popularizer  of  the  Vedantic 
sy.stem,  and  the  founder  of  the  Adwaita  philosopliy.  is  sometimes  called 
the  founder  of  the  modern  schools  of  the  .Vedanta. 

Vedas  (Sk.).  The  "revelation",  the  scriptures  of  the  Hindus,  from 
the  root  vid,  "to  know",  or  "divine  knowledge".  They  are  the  most 
ancient  as  well  as  the  most  sacred  of  the  Sanskrit  works.  The  Vcdas — 
on  the  date  and  antiquity  of  which  no  two  Orientalists  can  agree,  are 
claimed  by  tlie  Hindus  themselves,  whose  Brahmans  and  Pundits  ought 
to  know  best  about  their  own  religious  works,  to  have  been  first  taught 
orally  for  thousands  of  years  and  tlien  compiled  on  the  .shores  of  Lakf 
Alanasa-Sarovara  (phonetically,  Mansarorara)  beyond  tlie  Himalayas,  in 
Tibet.  When  was  this  done?  While  their  religious  teachers,  such  as 
Swami  Dayanand  Saraswati,  claim  for  them  an  antiquity  of  many 
decades  of  ages,  our  modern  Orientali.sts  will  grant  them  no  greater 
antiquit\'  in  their  present  form  tlian  about  between  1,000  and  2.000 
B.C.  As  compiled  in  their  final  form  by  Veda-Vyasa.  however,  the 
Brahmans  tliemselves  unanimously  assign  3.100  years  before  the  Chris- 
tian era,  the  date  when  Vya,sa  fh)urished.  Therefore  th(>  Vfdas  must 
be  as  old  as  this  date.  But  their  antitjuity  is  sutHiciently  proven  by  the 
fact  that  they  ai'c  written  in  such  an  ancient  form  of  Sanskrit,  so 
different  from  the  Sanskrit  now  used,  that  there  is  no  other  work  like 
them  in  the  literature  of  this  eldest  sister  of  all  tlu;  known  languages,  as 
Prof.  Max  Midler  calls  it.  Only  the  most  learned  of  the  Brahman 
Pundits  can  read  the  Vcdas  in  their  original.  It  is  urged  that  Colc- 
hrooke   found   the  date    1400  ii.c.  corroborated   absolutely  by   a  pas.sage 


336  THEUSOl'lIKAL 

wliifli  1k'  discovn-rd,  aiul  wliicli  is  based  on  astronoinifal  ilata.  But  if. 
as  shown  nnaiiinioiisly  by  all  tiic  Orientalists  and  tlie  Hindu  Pundits 
also,  that  (a)  tho  Vnlas  an-  not  a  sinj^U-  work,  nor  yet  any  one  of  tho 
separate  Vcdas;  but  that  eacli  Veda,  and  almost  every  hymn  and  divi- 
sion of  the  latter,  is  the  jiroduetion  of  various  authors;  and  that  (b) 
these  have  been  written  (whether  as  sruti,  "revelation",  or  not)  at  vari- 
ous periods  of  the  ethnolofrieal  evolution  of  the  Indo-Aryan  raee,  then — 
what  does  Mr.  Colebrooke's  discovery  jjrove?  Simply  that  the  Vcdus 
were  f'nudh/  ari-aufred  and  compiled  fourteen  centuries  liefore  our  era; 
but  this  interferes  in  no  way  with  their  anti(piity.  (^uite  the  revers*^ : 
for,  as  an  offset  to  Mr.  Colebrooke's  passajre,  there  is  a  learned  article, 
written  on  purely  astronomical  data  by  Krishiui  Shastri  Godbole  (of 
Bombay),  which  proves  as  absolutely  and  on  the  same  evidence  that  the 
Vedas  must  have  been  taujrht  at  least  25,000  years  ago.  (See  Thcoso- 
phist.  Vol.  II.,  p.  288  ct  .sv  7..  Au-r..  1881.)  This  statement  is,  if  not  sup- 
ported, at  any  rate  not  contradicted  by  what  Prof.  Cowell  says  in  Ap- 
pendix VII.,  of  Elphinstone's  Ilistori/  of  India:  "There  is  a  difference 
in  age  between  the  various  hymns,  which  are  now  unitcMl  in  their  present 
form  as  the  Sanhita  of  the  Rifj-Vcda;  but  we  have  no  data  to  eleterminc 
their  relative  antiquity,  and  purely  subjective  criticism,  apart  from  solid 
data,  has  so  often  failed  in  other  instances,  that  we  can  trust  but  little 
to  any  of  its  inferences  in  such  a  recently  opened  field  of  research  as 
Sanskrit  literature.  [Not  a  fourth  part  of  the  Vaidik  literature  is  as 
yet  in  print,  and  very  little  of  it  has  been  translated  into  English 
(1866).]  The  still  unsettled  eoutroversies  about  the  Homeric  poems 
may  well  warn  us  of  being  too  confident  in  our  judgments  regarding  th( 
yet  earlier  hymns  of  the  Rig-Veda.  .  .  .  When  we  examine  these 
hymns  .  .  .  they  are  deeply  interesting  for  the  history  of  the  human 
mind,  belonging  as  they  do  to  a  much  older  phase  than  the  poems  of 
Homer  or  Hesiod."  The  Vedic  writings  are  all  classified  in  two  great 
divisions,  exoteric  and  esoteric,  the  former  being  called  Karma-Kanda, 
"division  of  actions  or  works'',  and  the  Jndna-Knnda,  "division  of  (di- 
vine) knowledge",  the  Upanishads  (q.v.)  coming  under  this  last  classi- 
fication. Both  departments  are  regarded  as  Sruti  or  revelation.  To 
each  hymn  of  the  Rig-Veda,  the  name  of  the  Seer  or  Rishi  to  whom  it 
was  revealed  is  prefixed.  It,  thus,  becomes  evident  on  the  authority  of 
these  very  names  (such  as  Vasishta,  Viswamitra,  Narada,  etc.),  all  of 
which  belong  to  men  born  in  various  manvantaras  and  even  ages,  that 
centuries  and  perhajis  millemiiiinis,  must  have  elap.sed  between  the  dates 
of  their  comi)osition. 

Veda-Vyasa  (Sk.).    The  compiler  of  the  Vedas  (q.v.). 

Veddhas  (Sing.).    The  name  of  a  wild  race  of  men  living  in  the  for- 
ests of  Ceylon.     They  are  very  difficult  to  find. 

Vehicle  of  Life  (Mystic).    The  "Septenary"  Man  among  the  Pytha 
goreans,  "number  seven"  among  the  profane.     The  former  "explained 
it  by  saying,  that  the  human  body  consisted  of  four  principal  elements 


GLOSSARY  go-T 


(prnciples),  and  that  tlie  soul  is  triple  (the  higher  triad)"  (See  Ids 
UnvetledYol.  II.,  p.  418,  New  York.  ]877.)  It  has  been  often  remarked 
that  in  the  earlier  works  of  the  Theosophists  no  septenary  division  of 
man  was  mentioned.  The  above  quotation  is  sufficient  warrant  that 
althou-h  with  every  caution,  the  sub.ject  was  more  than  once  approached' 
j'.iKl  IS  not  a  new-fanjjled  tlieorv  or  invention 

Vendidad  (Pahlavi).  The  first  book  (Nosk)  in  the  collection  of  Zend 
tra-ments  usually  kno^^^l  as  the  Zend-Avesta.  The  Vendidad  is  a  cor- 
ruption of  the  compound-word  " Vidaevo-datem",  meanin«^  "the  auti- 
demoniac  law",  and  is  full  of  teachings  how  to  avoid  sin  and  defilement 
by  purification  moral  and  physical— rach  of  wliich  teacliings  is  based  on 
Occult  laws.  It  IS  a  pre-eminently  occult  treatise,  full  of  svmbolism  and 
often  of  meaning  quite  the  reverse  of  that  which  is  expressed  in  its 
dead-letter  text.  The  VcndMad,  as  claimed  by  tradition,  is  the  onlv  one 
of  the  twenty-one  A  osks  (works)  that  has  escaped  the  auto-da^fe  at  thr 
hands  of  the  drunken  Iskander  the  Rumi,  he  whom  posterity  calls 
Alexander  the  6V.^af-though  the  epithet  is  justifiable  onlv  when  applied 
to  the  brutality,  vices  and  cruelty  of  this  conqueror.  It  "is  through  tlie 
vandalism  of  this  Greek  that  literature  and  knowledge  have  lost  much 
priceless  lore  m  the  Nosks  burnt  by  him.  Even  the  Vendidad  has 
reached  us  in  only  a  fragm(>ntary  state.  The  first  chapters  are  ven- 
mystical,  and  therefore  called  "mythical"  in  the  renderings  of  Euro- 
pean Orientalists.  The  two  "creators"  of  "spirit-matter"  or  the  world 
of  differentiation-Ahura-Mazda  aand  Angra-Main^1l  (Ahriman)-are 
mtroduced  in  them,  and  also  Yima  (the  first  man,  or  mankind  personi- 
fied).   The  work  is  divid.-<l  into  Fargards  or  chapters,  and  a  portion  of 

fs::z:,fjr;i.:.V'^^  '"'■'""""  -'  ^-^  ''-''-  °^'  terrestrial^evolutio^i' 

Vetala  (Sk.).     An  elemental,  a  spook,  which  haunts  burial  orounds 
and  animates  corpses.  ^^^iinu> 

|.o«oi  «^,.l  t|„.  Ininn;  by  black  magic,  ineautatious.  and  ceremonies  per 
"teTMee ''vijr-' )  """''  """"'  '■"*  "^"^^^^  *'>«  ^"^^^  ^ 

p.S''r?,,/So.uttnT£teuSvrr""'  "'"■  •""  ^-""•-'  "' 
Vibhutayah  (Sk.).    The  same  as  Siddhis  or  magic  powers. 
Vidya  (Sk.).     Knowledge,  Occult  Science. 
^^  Vidya-dhara  r>SA-.;.   And  Vidya-dhari,  male  and  female  deities.   Lit.. 
possessors  ol  knowledge".     They  are  also  called  Nahhas-chara,  "mov- 
ing in  the  air      flying,  and  Prujam-vada,  "sweet-spoken".    Thev  are  the 
^>lphs  of  the  Rosicrucians:  inferior  deities  inhabiting  the  astral  sphere 
between  the  earth  and  ether;  believed  in  popular  folk-lore  to  be  benefi- 
cent, but  m  reality  they  are  cunning  and  mischievous,  and  intelligent 

fndT  ?    'w   7^^"' "^  '^■'"  '''''■    ^^^''y  ^'^  represented  in  the  East, 
and  in  the  West,  as  having  intercourse  with  men  ("intermarrying",  as 


338  THEOSOPHIC.M. 

it  is  called  in  Kosicniciiiii  j)arlance;  see  Count  dc  Gahalis).  In  India 
they  are  also  called  Kiimn-rupins,  as  they  take  shapes  at  will.  It  is 
among:  these  creatures  that  the  "spirit-wives"  and  "spirit-husbands" 
of  certain  modern  si)iritualistic  mediums  and  hysteriacs  are  recruited. 
These  boast  with  i>ride  of  having?  such  pernicious  connexions  (e.g.,  the 
American  "Lily",  tlie  spirit-wife  of  a  well-known  head  of  a  now  scat- 
tered community  of  Spiritualists,  of  a  great  poet  and  well-known 
writer),  aand  call  them  angrel-guides.  maintaining  that  they  are  the 
spirits  of  famous  disembodied  mortals.  These  "spirit-husbands"  and 
"wives"  have  not  originated  with  the  modern  Spiritists  and  Spiritual- 
ists, but  have  been  known  in  the  East  for  thousands  of  years,  in  the 
Occult  jihilosopliy.  under  the  names  above  given,  and  among  the  profane 
as — Pishaehas. 

Vihara  fSk.).'  Any  place  inhabited  by  Buddhist  priests  or  ascetics; 
a  Buddhist  temple  generall.v  a  rock-temple  or  cave.  A  monastery,  or 
a  nunnery  also.  One  finds  in  these  days  Viharas  built  in  the  enclosures 
of  monastei-ies  and  academies  for  Buddliist  training  in  towns  and  cities; 
but  in  days  of  yore  they  were  to  be  met  with  only  in  unfrequented  wild 
jungles,  on  mountain  tops,  and  in  the  most  deserted  places. 

Viharaswamin  (Sk.).  The  superior  (whether  male  or  female)  of  a 
monastery  or  convent,  Vihara.  Also  called  Karmaclana.  as  every  teacher 
or  guru,  having  authority,  takes  upon  himself  the  responsibility  of 
certain  actions,  good  or  bad.  committed  hy  his  pupils  or  the  flock  en- 
trusted to  him. 

Vijnanam  (Sk.).  The  Vedantic  name  for  the  principle  which  dwells 
in  the  Yijudnamaya  Kosha  (the  sheath  of  intellect)  and  corresponds  to 
the  faculties  of  the  Higher  Manas. 

Vikarttana  (Sk.).  Lit.,  "shorn  of  his  rags";  a  name  of  the  Sun,  and 
the  type  of  the  initiated  neophyte.     (See  Secret  Doctrine,  I.,  p.  322,  n.) 

Vimoksha  (Sk.).    The  same  as  Nirvana. 

Vina  (Sk.).  A  kind  of  large  guitar  used  in  India  and  Tibet,  whose 
invention  is  attributed  variously  to  Siva,  Narada,  and  others. 

Vinata  (Sk.).  A  daughter  of  Daksha  and  wife  of  Kashyapa  (one  of 
the  "seven  orators"  of  the  world).  She  brought  forth  the  e^rg  from 
which  Garuda  the  seer  was  born. 

Viprachitti  (Sk.).  The  chief  of  the  Danavas — the  giants  that  warred 
with  the  gods:  the  Titans  of  India. 

Virabhadra  (Sk.).  A  thousand-headed  and  thousand-armed  monster, 
"born  of  the  breath"  of  Siva  Rudra  a  symbol  having  reference  to  the 
"sweat-born",  the  second  race  of  mankind  (Secret  Doctrine,  II.,  p.  182). 

Viraj  (Sk.).  The  Hindu  Logos  in  the  Purdnas;  the  male  Manu, 
created  in  the  female  portion  of  Brahma's  body  (Vach)  by  that  god. 
Says  Manu:  "Ha\ang  divided  his  body  into  two  parts,  the  lord 
(Brahma)  became  with  the  one  half  a  male  and  with  the  other  half  a 
female;   and   in   her   he   created  Viraj".     The   Rig-Veda   makes  Viraj 


GLOSS AKY  339 

spring  from  Purusha,  and  Purusha  sprin^]^  from  Viraj.  Tlu'  latter  is  the 
type  of  all  male  beings,  and  Vaeh,  Sata-riipa  (she  of  the  hundred  forms), 
the  type  of  all  female  forms. 

Vishnu  (8k.).  The  second  person  of  the  Hindu  Trimurti  (trinity), 
composed  of  Brahma,  Vishnu  and  Siva.  P>om  the  root  visit,  to  pervade". 
In  the  Rig-Veda,  Vishnu  is  no  high  god,  but  simply  a  manifestation 
of  the  solar  energy,  described  as  "striding  through  the  seven  regions 
of  the  Universe  in  three  steps  and  enveloping  all  things  with  the  dust 
(of  his  beams".)  AVhatever  may  be  the  six  other  occult  signiticances  of 
the  statement,  this  is  related  to  the  same  class  of  types  as  the  seven  and 
ten  Sephiroth,  as  the  seven  and  three  orifices  of  the  perfect  Adam  Kad- 
mon,  as  the  seven  "principles"  and  the  higher  triad  in  man,  etc.,  etc. 
Later  on  this  mystic  tj'pe  becomes  a  great  god.  the  preserver  and  the 
renovator,  he  "of  a  thousand  names — Sahasranama". 

Vishwakarman  (Hk.).  The  "Omnificent".  A  Vedic  god,  a  personi- 
fication of  the  creative  Force,  described  as  the  One  "all-seeing  god. 
.  .  .  .  the  generator,  disposer,  who  ...  is  beyond  the  compre- 
hension of  (uninitiated)  mortals".  In  the  two  hymns  of  the  Rig-Veda 
specially  devoted  to  him,  he  is  said  "to  sacrifice  himself  to  himself". 
The  names  of  his  mother,  "the  lovely  and  virtuous  Yoga-Siddhd" 
(Purdnas),  and  of  his  daughter  Sanjnd  (spiritual  consciousness),  show 
his  mystic  character.  (See  Secret,  Doctrine,  siih  voc.)  As  the  artificer 
of  the  gods  and  maker  of  their  weapons,  he  is  called  Kdru,  *  *  workman ' ', 
Takshaka  "carpenter",  or  "wood-cutter",  etc.,  etc. 

Vishwatryarchas  (Sk.).  The  fourth  solar  (mystic)  ray  of  the  seven. 
(See  Secret  Doctrine,  I.,  p.  515,  n.) 

Vivaswat  (Sk.).    The  "bright  One",  the  Sun. 

Viwan  (Sk.).  Some  kind  "of  air-vehicle",  like  a  balloon,  mentioned 
but  not  described  in  the  old  Sanskrit  works,  which  the  Atlanteans  and 
the  ancient  Aryas  seem  to  have  known  and  used. 

Voluspa  (Scand.).  A  poem  called  "The  Song  of  the  Prophetess",  or 
"Song  of  Wala". 

Voodooism,  or  Voodoos.  A  system  of  African  sorcery ;  a  sect  of  black 
magicians,  to  which  the  New  Orleans  negroes  are  much  addicted.  It 
flourishes  likewise  in  Cuba  and  South  America. 

Voordalak  (Slav.).  A  vampire;  a  corpse  informed  by  its  lower  prin- 
ciples, and  maintaining  a  kind  of  semi-life  in  itself  by  raising  itself 
during  the  night  from  the  grave,  fascinating  its  living  victims  and  suck- 
ing out  their  blood.  Roumanians,  Moldavians,  Servians,  and  all  the 
Slavonian  tribes  dwelling  in  the  Balkans,  and  also  the  Tchechs  (Bohe- 
mians), Moravians,  and  others,  firmly  believe  in  the  existence  of  such 
ghosts  and  dread  them  accordingly. 

Votan  (Mcx.).  The  deified  hero  of  the  ^Mexicans  and  probably  the 
same  as  Quetzal-Coatl ;  a  "son  of  the  snakes",  one  admitted  "to  the 
snake's  hole",  which  means  an  Adept  admitted  to  the  Initiation  in  the 


340  TIIKOSOPIIICAL 

secret  eliambir  of  the  'rcmplc.  'I'lie  missionary  Brusst-ur  tie  Hoiirbourj;, 
seeks  to  prove  him  a  (ieseendant  of  Ham.  t)ie  accursed  son  of  Noali. 
(Soo  Isis  Unvcilcfl,  I.,  pj).  'Af)  ct  acq.) 

Vrata  ( Sk.).    Law,  or  power  of  the  p^ods. 

Vratani  (Sic).  Varuna's  "active  laws",  courses  of  natural  action. 
(S.r  irt<i  Vidic  Hymns,  X.,  90-1.) 

Vriddha  Garga  (Sk.).  From  Vriddha,  "old",  and  (!(ir<ia,  an  ancient 
sa^'t  .  oiir  of  the  oldest  writers  on  astronomy. 

Vriddha  Manava  (Sk.).    The  laws  of  j\Ianu. 

Vritra  (Sk.).  The  demon  of  drought  in  the  Vcdas,  a  great  foe  of 
Indra.  with  wliom  he  is  constantly  at  war.  The  allegory  of  a  cosmic 
phenomenon. 

Vritra-han  (Sk.).  An  epithet  or  title  of  indra.  meaning  "the  slayer 
of  A'ritra  "". 

Vyahritis  (Slav.).  Lit.,  "fiery."  words  lit  h>i  and  horn  of  fire.  The 
three  mystical,  creative  words,  said  by  ]\Ianu  to  have  been  milked  by  the 
Prajapati  from  the  Vrdas:  hhur,  from  tlie  Rig-Vcda;  hhuvah,  from  the 
Yajur-Vcda;  and  Swar,  from  the  Sarna-Vrda  (Manu  TI..  76).  All  three 
are  said  to  possess  creative  powers.  Tlie  Satapatha  Brdhmana  explains 
tliat  the}'  are  "the  three  luminous  essences"  extracted  from  the  Vedas 
by  Prajapati  ("lords  of  creation",  progenitors),  through  heat.  "He 
(Brahma")  uttered  the  word  bhur,  and  it  became  the  earth;  bhuvah,  and 
it  became  the  firmament;  and  swar,  which  became  heaven".  Mahar  is 
the  fourth  "luminous  essence",  and  was  taken  from  the  Atharva-Veda. 
But.  as  this  word  is  purely  mantric  and  magical,  it  is  one,  so  to  say,  kept 
apart. 

Vyasa  (Sk.>.  Lit.,  one  who  expands  or  amplifies;  an  interpreter,  or 
rather  a  rcveahr;  for  that  which  he  explains,  interprets  and  amplifies 
is  a  myst(  rjj  to  the  profane.  This  term  was  applied  in  days  of  old  to  the 
highest  Gurus  in  India.  There  were  manj'^  Vyasas  in  Aryavarta;  one 
was  the  compiler  and  arranger  of  the  Vedas;  another,  tlie  author  of 
the  Mahdhhdrata — the  twenty-eighth  Vydsa  or  revealer  in  the  order  of 
succession' — and  the  last  one  of  note  was  the  author  of  TJttara  Mlmdnsd, 
the  sixth  school  or  system  of  Indian  philosophy.  He  was  also  the 
founder  of  the  Vedanta  system.  His  date,  as  assigned  by  Orientalists 
(see  Elphinstone,  Cowell,  etc.),  is  1,400  B.C.,  but  this  date  is  certainly  too 
recent.  The  Purdnas  mention  only  twenty-eight  Vyasas.  who  at  various 
ages  descended  to  the  earth  to  itroniulgate  Vedic  truths — -but  there  were 
inanv  more. 


GLOSSARY  341 


w. 


w. 


-The  '2'.h'd  letter.  Has  no  rquivaleut  in  Hebrew.  In  Western 
Occultism  some  take  it  as  the  symbol  for  celestial  water,  whereas  ^I 
stands  for  terrestrial  water. 

Wala  (Scand.J.  A  prophetess  in  the  songs  of  the  Edda  (Norse  myth- 
ology). Through  the  incantations  of  Odin  she  was  raised  from  her 
grave,  and  made  to  prophesy  the  death  of  Baldur. 

Walhalla  (Scand.).  A  kind  of  paradise  (Devaehan)  for  slaughtered 
waiTiors  called  by  the  Norsemen  "the  hall  of  the  blessed  heroes":  it 
has  five  hundred  doors. 

Wall  (Scand.).  The  son  of  Odin  who  avenges  the  death  of  Baldur, 
"the  well-beloved". 

Walkyries  (Scand.).  Called  the  "choosers  of  the  dead".  In  the 
popular  poetry  of  the  Scandinavians,  these  goddesses  consecrate  the 
fallen  heroes  with  a  kiss,  and  bearing  them  from  the  battle-field  carry 
them  to  the  halls  of  bliss  and  to  the  gods  in  Walhalla. 

Wanes  (Scand.).  A  race  of  gods  of  great  antiquity,  worshipped  at 
the  dawn  of  time  by  the  Norsemen,  and  later  by  the  Teutonic  races. 

Wara  (Scand.).  One  of  the  maidens  of  Northern  Freya ;  "the  wis«^ 
Wara",  who  watches  the  desires  of  each  human  heart,  and  avenges 
ivery  breach  of  faith. 

Water.  The  first  principle  of  things,  according  to  Thah-s  and  other 
ancient  philosophers.  Of  course  this  is  not  water  on  the  material  plane, 
but  in  a  figurative  sense  for  the  potential  fluid  contained  in  boundless 
space.  This  was  symbolised  in  ancient  Egypt  by  Kncph,  the  "unre- 
\Taled"  god,  who  was  represented  as  the  serpent — the  emblem  of  eter- 
nity— encircling  a  ivatcr-wrn,  with  his  head  hovering  over  the  waters. 
wiiich  he  incubates  with  his  breath.  "And  tlu'  Spirit  of  God  moved 
upon  the  face  of  the  waters."  (Gen.  i.)  Tiie  honey-dew,  the  food  of 
the  gods  and  the  creative  hecs  on  the  Yggdra.sil,  falls  during  the  night 
npon  the  tree  of  life  from  the  "divine  waters,"  the  birth-place  of  the 
gods".  Alchemists  claim  that  when  pre-Adamic  earth  is  reduced  by  the 
Alkahest  to  its  first  substance,  it  is  like  clear  water.  The  Alkahest  is 
"the  one  and  the  invisihh ,  tlie  water,  the  first  principle,  in  the  second 
transformation". 

We  (Scand.).  One  of  the  three  gods — Odin,  Wili  and  We — who  kill 
tile  giant  Ymir  (chaotic  force),  and  create  the  world  out  of  his  body,  tho 
primordial  substance. 


342  THKOSOPUICAL 

Werdandi  fScand.).  See  "Noriis",  tlic  three  sister-goddesses  who 
represent  tlie  Past,  the  Presiiit  aiul  tlir  l''uture.  Werclaiuli  represents 
the  ever-present  time. 

Whip  of  Osiris.  The  seuur;,'e  whieli  symbolises  Osiris  as  the  "judge 
of  tile  dead".  It  is  called  tiie  iKhhikh,  in  the  papyri,  or  the  flagellum. 
Dr.  Pritchard  set-s  in  it  a  fan  or  van,  the  winnowing  instrument.  Osiris, 
"whose  fan  is  in  his  hand  and  who  purges  the  Amenti  of  .sinful  hearts 
as  a  winnower  sweeps  his  floor  of  the  fallen  grains  and  locks  the  good 
wlieat   into  his  garner".     (('omi»are  Matlluw,  iii.  12.) 

White  Fire  (Kab.).  The  Zohar  treating  of  the  "Long  Face"  and 
"Short  Face",  the  symbols  of  Macrocosm  and  Microcosm,  speaks  of  the 
hidden  Wiiite  Fire,  radiating  from  these  night  and  day  and  yet  never 
seen.  It  answers  to  vital  force  (beyond  luminiferous  ether),  and  elec- 
tricity on  the  iiigher  and  lower  planes,  liut  the  mystic  "White  Fir«" 
is  a  name  given  to  Ain-8oph.  And  this  is  the  difference  between  the 
Aryan  and  the  .Semitic  philosoi)hies.  The  Occultists  of  the  former  speak 
of  the  Black  Fire,  whicii  is  the  symbol  of  the  unknown  and  untliinkable 
Brahm,  and  declare  anj'  speculation  on  the  "Black  Fire''  imposvsible. 
But  the  Kabbalists  who,  owing  to  a  .subtle  permutation  of  meaning,  en- 
dow even  Ain-Soph  with  a  kind  of  indirect  will  and  attributes,  call  its 
"fire''  white,  thus  dragging  the  Absolute  into  the  world  of  relation  and 
finiteness. 

White  Head.  In  Hebrew  Kcsha  Ilivra,  an  epithet  given  to  Sephira. 
the  highe.st  of  the  .Sephiroth,  whose  cranium  "distils  the  dew  which  will 
call  the  dead  again  to  life". 

White  Stone.  The  sign  of  initiation  mentioned  in  St.  John's 
lii  v(  Uitidii.  It  had  the  word  prize  engraved  on  it,  and  was  the  symbol 
of  that  word  given  to  the  neophyte  who.  in  his  initiation,  had  success- 
fully pas.sed  through  all  the  trials  in  the  i\lYSTERiES.  It  was  the  potent 
white  cornelian  of  the  mediajvaL  Rosicrucians,  who  took  it  from  the 
Gnostics.  "To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  hidd€n 
manna  (the  occult  knowledge  whicli  descends  as  divine  wisdom  from 
heaven),  and  will  give  him  a  ivhite,  stone,  and  in  the  stone  a  new  name 
written  (the  'mystery  name'  of  the  inner  man  or  the  Ego  of  the  new 
initiate),  whicii  no  man  knoweth  saving  liim  that  receiveth  it." 
(  Rrvilnfian.  ii.  17.  ^ 

Widow  s  Son.  A  name  giveVi  to  the  French  Masons,  because  the 
Masonic  ceremonies  are  principally  based  on  the  adventures  and  death 
of  Hiram  Abif,  "the  widow's  son",  who  is  supposed  to  have  helped  to 
l)uild  the  mythical  Solomon's  Temple. 

Wili  (Scand.).     See  "We." 

Will.  In  metaphysics  and  occult  philosophy,  "Will  is  that  which 
governs  the  manifested  universes  in  eternity.  Will  is  the  one  and  sole 
principle  of  abstract  eternal  ^Iotion,  or  its  ensouling  essence.  "The 
will,"  says  Van  Helmont,  "is  the  first  of  all  powers.  .  .  .  The  will  is 
the  pi'operty  of  all  sjiiritual  beings  and  displays  itself  in  them  the  more 


GLOSSARY  343 

actively  tlic  move  llie>-  aiv  freed  from  matter."  And  Paracelsus?  teaches 
that  "determined  will  is  the  beginning-  of  all  magical  operations.  It  is 
because  men  do  not  perfectly  imagine  and  believe  the  result,  that  the 
(occult)  arts  are  so  uncertain,  while  they  might  be  perfectly  certain." 
Like  all  the  rest,  the  Will  is  septninry  in  its  degrees  of  manifestation. 
Emanating  from  the  one,  eternal,  abstract  and  purely  quiescent  Will 
(Atma  in  Layam),  it  becomes  Buddhi  in  its  Alaya  state,  descends  lower 
as  Mahat  (Manas),  and  runs  down  the  ladder  of  degrees  until  tlie  divine 
Eros  becomes,  in  its  lower,  animal  manifestation,  erotic  desire.  Will  as 
an  eternal  principle  is  neither  spirit  nor  substance  but  everlasting  idea- 
tion. As  well  expressed  by  Schopenhauer  in  his  Parcrgn,  "in  sober 
reality  there  is  neither  matter  nor  spirit.  The  tendency  to  gravitation  in 
a  stone  is  as  unexplainable  as  thought  in  the  human  brain.  ...  If 
matter  can — no  one  knows  why — fall  to  the  ground,  then  it  can  also — 
no  one  knows  why — think.  ...  As  soon  even  in  mechanics,  as  we 
trespass  beyond  tlie  purely  mathematical,  as  soon  as  we  reach  the  inscru- 
table adhesion,  gravitation,  and  so  on,  we  are  faced  by  phenomena  which 
are  to  our  senses  as  m.ysterious  as  the  will." 

Wisdom.  The  "very  essence  of  wisdom  is  contained  in  the  Non- 
Being",  say  the  Kabbalists ;  but  they  also  apply  the  term  to  the  Word 
or  Logos,  tlie  Demiurge,  by  which  the  universe  was  called  into  existence. 
"The  one  Wisdom  is  in  the  Sound",  say  the  Occiiltists;  the  Logos  again 
being  meant  by  Sound,  which  is  the  substratum  of  Akasa.  Savs  the 
Zohar,  the  "Book  of  Splendour":  "It  is  the  Principle  of  all  the  Prin- 
ciples, the  mysterious  Wisdom,  the  crown  of  all  that  which  there  is  of  the 
most  High".  (Zohar,  iii.,  fol.  288,  Myer's  Qdbhalah.)  And  it  is  ex- 
plained, "Above  Kether  is  the  Ayin,  or  Ens,  i.e.,  Ain.  the  Nothing". 
"It  is  so  named  because  we  do  not  know,  and  it  is  impossible  to  know. 
that  which  there  is  in  that  Principle,  because  .  .  .  it  is  ahove  Wisdom 
itself."  (iii.,  fol.  288.)  This  shows  that  the  real  Kabbalists  agree  with 
the  Occultists  tiiat  the  essence,  or  that  which  is  in  the  prin<'iplt'  of  Wis- 
dom, is  still  above  that  highest  AVisdom. 

Wisdom  Religion.  The  one  religion  wliich  underlies  all  the  now- 
existing  creeds.  That  "faith"  which,  being  j)rimordial,  and  revealed 
directly  to  human  kind  by  their  progenitors  and  informing  Egos 
(though  the  Church  regards  them  as  the  "fallen  angels"),  required  no 
"grace",  nor  hlinel  faith  to  believe,  for  it  was  knoivhdge.  (See  "Gupta 
Vidya",  Hidden  Knowledge.)  It  is  on  this  Wisdom  Religion  that 
Theosophy  is  based. 

Witch.  From  the  Anglo-Saxon  word  wicec,  German  ivisscn,  "to 
know",  and  irikkcn,  "to  divine".  The  witches  were  at  lirst  called 
"wise  women",  until  the  day  the  Church  took  it  unto  herself  to  follow 
the  law  of  Moses,  which  put  every  "witch"  or  enchantress  to  deatli. 

Witchcraft.  Sorcerj',  enchantment,  tlu>  art  of  throwing  spells  and 
using  black  magic. 

Witches'  Sabbath.     The  supposed  festival  and   gathering  of  witehes 


344  THEOSOPIIICAL 

in  some  lonely  spot,  where  the  witches  were  accused  of  conferring!: 
directly  with  the  Devil.  Every  race  and  jieople  believed  in  it,  and  some 
believe  in  it  .still.  Thus  the  chief  headquarters  and  place  of  meeting  of 
all  the  witehes  in  Russia  is  said  to  b(»  the  Bald  Mountain  (Lyssaya 
Gora),  near  Kief,  and  in  Germany  the  lirocken,  in  the  Ilarz  Mountains. 
In  old  Boston,  U.S.A.,  they  met  near  the  "Devil's  Pond",  in  a  large 
forest  wliich  has  now  disappeared.  At  Salem,  they  were  put  to  death 
almost  at  the  will  of  the  Church  Ellders,  and  in  South  Carolina  a  witch 
was  burnt  as  late  as  1865.  In  Germany  and  England  they  were  mur- 
dered by  Church  and  State  in  thousands,  being  forced  to  lie  and  confess 
under  tortui-e  their  partieipation  in  tlie  "Witches'  Sabbath". 

Wittoba  (Sic).  A  form  of  Vishnu.  ^loor  gives  in  his  Hindu 
Pantheon  the  picture  of  Wittoba  crucified  in  Spcice;  and  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Luudy  maintains  (Monumental  Christianity )  that  this  engraving  is 
anterior  to  Christianity  and  is  the  cruciiied  Krishna,  a  Saviour,  hence 
a  concrete  ])rophecy  of  Christ.     (See  Isis  Unveiled,  II.,  of)?.  558.') 

Wizard.     A  wise  man.     An  enchanter,  or  sorcerer. 

Wodan  (Saxon).     The  Scandinavian  Odin,  Votan,  or  Wuotan. 

World.  As  a  prefix  to  mountains,  trees,  and  so  on,  it  denotes  a  uni- 
ver.s<il  belief.  Thus  the  "World-Mountain"  of  the  Hindus  was  Meru. 
As  said  in  Isis  Unveiled:  "All  the  world-mountains  and  mundane  eggs, 
the  mundane  trees,  and  the  mundane  snakes  and  pillars,  may  be  shown 
to  embody  scientifically  demonstrated  truths  of  natural  philosophy.  All 
of  these  mountains  contain,  wdth  very  trifling  variations,  the  allegori- 
cally-exi)ressed  description  of  primal  cosmogony ;  the  mundane  trees, 
that  of  subsequent  evolution  of  si)irit  and  matter;  the  mundane  snakes 
and  pillars,  symbolical  memorials  of  the  various  attributes  of  this  double 
evolution  in  its  endless  correlation  of  cosmic  forces.  Within  the  mys- 
terious recesses  of  the  mountains — the  matrix  of  the  universe — the  gods 
(powers)  prepare  the  atomic  germs  of  organic  life,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  life-drink,  which,  when  tasted,  awakens  in  man-matter  the  man- 
spirit.  The  Soma,  the  .sacrificial  drink  of  the  Hindus,  is  that  sacred 
beverage.  For  at  the  creation  of  the  prima  materia,  while  the  grossest 
portions  of  it  w^ere  used  for  the  physical  embryo-world,  its  more  divine 
essence  pervaded  the  universe,  invisibly  permeating  and  enclosing  within 
its  ethereal  waves  the  newly-born  infant,  developing  and  stimulating  it 
to  activity  as  it  .slowly  evolved  out  of  the  eternal  chaos.  From  thf 
poetry  of  abstract  conception,  these  mundane  myths  gradually  passed 
into  the  concrete  images  of  cosmic  symbols,  as  archaeology  now  finds 
them."  Another  and  still  more  usual  prefix  to  all  these  objects  is 
"Mundane".  (See  "Mundane  Egg",  "Mundane  Tree",  and 
"Yggdrasil".) 

Worlds,  the  Four.  The  Kabbalists  recognise  Four  Worlds  of  Exist- 
ence :  viz.,  Atziluth  or  archetypal ;  Briah  or  creative,  the  first  reflection 
of  the  highest;  Yetzirah  or  formative;  and  Assiah,  the  AVorld  of  Shells 
or  Klippoth.  and  the  material  universe.     The  essence  of  Deity  concen- 


GLOSS  AEY 


345 


trating  into  the  Sephiroth  is  first  manifested  in  the  Atziluthie  World, 
and  their  reflections  are  produced  in  succession  in  each  of  the  four 
planes,  with  gradually  lessening  radiance  and  purity,  until  the  material 
universe  is  arrived  at.  Some  authors  call  these  four  planes  the  In- 
tellectual, :Moral,  Sensuous,  and  Material  Worlds,     [w.w.w.] 

Worlds,  Inferior  and  Superior.  The  Occultists  and  the  Kabbalists 
agree  in  dividing  the  universe  into  superior  and  inferior  worlds,  the 
worlds  of  Idea  and  the  worlds  of  Matter.  "As  above,  so  below",  states 
the  Hermetic  philosophy.  This  lower  world  is  formed  on  its  prototype 
—the  higher  world;  and  "everything  in  the  lower  is  but  an  image  (a 
reflection)  of  the  higher".     {Zohar,  ii.,  fol.  20a.) 


.'?46  THEOSOFHICAL 


X. 

•'*•• — This  letter  is  one  ot  tlie  iin|i(»i'taiit  s\  inl»()ls  in  the  Occult  piiil- 
nsophy.  As  a  nuniei-al  X  stands,  in  mathematics,  for  the  unknown 
quantity;  in  occult  numerals,  for  the  perfect  number  10;  when  placed 
horizontally,  thus  X',  it  means  1.000;  the  same  with  a  da.sh  over  it  y 
for  10.000;  and  by  itself  in  occult  .symbolism,  it  is  Plato's  lofjos  fraan  as 
a  microcosm)  decu.ssated  in  space  in  the  form  of  the  letter  X.  The  (^. 
or  cross  within  the  circle,  has  moreover  a  still  clearer  siprnificance  in 
Eastern  occult  philosophy:  it  is  ^Ian  within  his  own  spherical  envelope. 

Xenophilus.  A  Pythag:oreaii  adejit  and  philo.sopher,  credited  by 
Lucian  (dc  Macroh.),  Pliny  and  others  with  having  lived  to  his  170th 
year,  preserving  all  his  faculties  to  the  last.  He  wrote  on  music  and  was 
surnamed  the  "Musician". 

Xisusthrus  (Gr.).  The  Chaldean  Noah,  on  the  As.syrian  tablets,  who 
is  thus  descril)ed  in  the  hi.story  of  the  ten  kings  of  Bero.sus.  according 
to  Alexander  Polyhistor:  "After  the  death  of  (the  ninth "i  Ardates,  his 
.son  Xisusthrus  reigned  eighteen  sari.  In  his  time  ha])iiened  a  great 
deluge."  "Warned  by  his  deity  in  a  vision  of  the  forthcoming  cataclysm. 
Xisusthrus  was  ordered  by  that  deity  to  build  an  ark,  to  convey  into  it 
his  relations,  together  with  all  the  different  animals,  birds,  etc.,  and 
trust  himself  to  the  rising  waters.  Obeying  the  divine  admonition. 
Xisusthrus  is  shown  to  do  precisely  what  Noah  did  many  thousand 
years  after  him.  He  sent  out  birds  from  the  vessel  which  returned 
to  him  again ;  then  a  few  days  after  he  sent  them  again,  and  they 
returned  with  their  feet  coated  with  mud  ;  but  the  third  time  they  came 
back  to  him  no  more.  Stranded  on  a  high  mountain  of  Armenia, 
Xisusthrus  descends  and  builds  an  altar  to  the  gods.  Here  only,  comes 
a  divergence  between  the  polytheistic  and  monotheistic  legends.  Xisns 
thrus,  having  worshipped  and  rendered  thanks  to  the  gods  for  his 
salvation,  disappeared,  and  his  companions  ".saw  him  no  more."  The 
story  informs  us  that  on  account  of  liis  great  piety  Xisusthrus  and  his 
family  were  tran.slated  to  live  with  the  gods,  as  he  him.self  told  the  sur- 
vivors. For  though  his  body  was  gone,  his  voice  was  heard  in  tlie  air. 
which,  after  apprising  them  of  the  occurrence,  admonished  them  to 
return  to  Babylon,  and  pay  due  regard  to  virtue,  religion,  and  the  gods. 
This  is  more  meritorious  than  to  plant  vines,  get  drunk  on  the  juice  of 
the  grape,  and  curse  one's  own  son. 


GLOSSARY  347 


Y. 

1  • — The  twfiity-tifth  letter  of  the  Eii<,rlish  alphabet,  and  the  tenth  of 
the  Hebrew — the  Yod.  It  is  the  litera  Pythar/orce,  the  Pythajjorean  let- 
ter and  symbol,  signifying:  the  two  branches,  or  paths  of  virtue  and  vice 
respectively,  the  right  leading  to  virtue,  the  left  to  vice.  In  Hebrew 
Kabbalistic  mysticism  it  is  the  phallic  male  member,  and  also  as  number 
ten,  the  perfect  number.  Symbolically,  it  is  represented  by  a  hand  with 
bent  forefinger.     Its  numerical  equivalent  is  ten. 

Yadava  (Sk.).  A  descendant  of  Yadu;  of  the  great  race  in  which 
Krishna  was  born.  The  founder  of  this  line  was  Yadu,  the  son  of  King 
Yayati  of  the  Somavansa  or  Lunar  Race.  It  was  under  Krishna — cer- 
tainly no  mythical  personage — that  the  kingdom  of  Dwaraka  in  Guzerat 
was  established;  and  also  after  the  death  of  Krishna  (3102  B.C.)  that  all 
the  Yadavas  present  in  the  city  perished,  when  it  was  submerged  by  the 
ocean.  Onljr  a  few  of  the  Yadavas  who  were  absent,  from  the  town  at 
the  time  of  the  catastrophe,  escaped  to  perpetuate  this  great  race.  The 
Rajas  of  Vijaya-Nagara  are  now  among  the  small  number  of  its  repre- 
sentatives. 

Yah  (Heh.).  The  word,  as  claimed  in  the  Zohar,  through  which  the 
Elohim  formed  the  worlds.  The  syllable  is  a  national  adaptation  and 
one  of  the  manv  forms  of  the  "Mvsterv  name"  I.vo.  (See  "laho"  and 
"Yaho".) 

Yaho  (Ileh.).  Fiirst  shows  this  to  be  the  same  as  the  Greek  lao. 
Ytiho  is  an  old  Semetic  and  very  mystic  name  of  the  supreme  deity, 
while  Yah  (q.v.)  is  a  later  abbreviation  which,  from  containing  an  ab- 
stract ideal,  became  finally  applied  to,  and  connected  with  a  phallic 
symbol — the  lingham  of  creation.  Both  Yah  and  Yaho  were  Hebrew 
"mystery  names"  derived  from  lao,  but  the  Chaldeans  had  a  Yaho  be- 
fore the  Jews  adopted  it,  and  Avith  them,  as  explained  by  some  Gnostics 
and  Neo-Platonists,  it  was  the  highest  conceival)le  deity  enthroned  above 
the  seven  heavens  and  I'epresnting  Spiritual  Light  (Atman,  the  uni- 
versal), whose  ray  was  Nuus,  standing  both  for  the  intelligent  Demiurge 
of  the  Universe  of  iMatter  and  the  Divine  ^Manas  in  man,  both  being 
Spirit,  The  true  key  of  this,  communicated  to  the  Initiates  only,  was 
that  the  name  of  Iao  was  "triliteral  and  its  nature  secret",  as  explained 
by  the  Hierophants.  The  Phoenicians  too  had  a  supreme  deity  whose 
name  was  triliteral,  and  its  meanings  secret,  this  was  also  lao;  and 
Y-ha-ho  was  a  sacred  word  in  the  Egyptian  mysteries,  which  signified 
"the  one  eternal  and  concealed  deity"  in  nature  and  in  man;  i.e.,  the 
"universal  Divine  Ideation",  and  the  linnian  ]\Ianas.  or  the  higlier  Ego. 


348  THEOSOPJIRAL 

Yajna  (Sk.).  "Sacrifice",  whose  symbol  or  representation  is  now 
the  constellation  ^Irij^a-sliiras  (deer-head),  and  also  a  form  of  Vishnu. 
"The  Yajna",  say  the  Brahnians.  "exists  from  eternity,  for  it  proceeded 
from  the  Supreme,  in  whom  it  lay  dormant  from  no  hcffinning".  It  is 
the  key  to  the  Trai-VUJya,  the  thrice  sacred  .science  contained  in  the  Riq- 
Veda  verses  in  his  Introduction  to  the  Aitarerja  Brdhmana — the  Yajna 
exists  as  an  invisible  presence  at  all  times,  extending  from  the  Ahavamya 
or  .sacrificial  fire  to  the  heavens,  forming  a  bridge  or  ladder  by  means 
of  which  the  sacrificer  can  communicate  with  tlie  world  of  devas,  "and 
even  ascend  when  alive  to  their  abodes".  It  is  one  of  the  forms  of  Akasa. 
within  which  the  mystic  Word  (or  its  underlying  "Sound")  calls  it  into 
existence.  Pronounced  by  the  Priest-Initiate  or  Yogi,  this  Word 
receives  creative  powers,  and  is  communicated  as  an  impulse  on  the 
t(^rre.strial  plane  through  a  trained  WUl-powfr. 

Yakin  and  Boaz  (Hrh.).  A  Kabbalistic  and  ^lasonic  symbol.  Tlic 
two  pillars  of  bronze  (Yakin,  male  and  white;  Boaz,  female  and  red), 
ca.st  by  Hiram  Abif  of  Tyre,  called  "the  Widow's  Son",  for  Solomon's 
supposed  (^lasonic)  Temj^le.  Yakin  was  the  syml)ol  of  Wisdom 
(Chokmah),  the  second  Sepliii-a  ;  and  Boaz,  that  of  Intelligence  (Binah)  ; 
the  temple  between  the  two  being  regarded  as  Krthfr,  the  crown.  Pather- 
^lother. 

Yaksha  (Sk.).  A  class  of  demons,  who,  in  popular  Indian  folk-lore, 
devour  mm.  In  esoteric  .science  they  are  simply  evil  (elemental)  influ- 
ences, who  in  the  sight  of  .seers  and  clairvoj'ants  descend  on  men,  Avhen 
open  to  the  reception  of  such  influences,  like  a  fiery  comet  or  a  shooting 
star. 

Yama  (Ilcb.).  Tiie  personified  third  root-race  in  Occultism.  In  the 
Indian  Pantheon  Yama  is  the  subject  of  two  distinct  versions  of  the 
myth.  In  the  Vcdas  he  is  the  god  of  the  dead,  a  Pluto  or  a  IMinos.  with 
whom  the  shades  of  the  departed  dwell  (the  Kamarupas  in  KamalokaV 
A  hymn  speaks  of  Yama  as  the  first  of  men  that  died,  and  the  first  that 
departed  to  the  world  of  bliss  (Devachan).  This,  because  Yama  is  the 
embodiment  of  the  race  wiiich  was  the  first  to  be  endowed  with  conacioua- 
ness  (Manas),  without  which- tliere  is  neither  Heaven  nor  Hades.  Yama 
is  represented  as  the  son  of  Vivaswat  (the  Sun).  He  had  a  twin-sister 
named  Yanu,  who  was  ever  urging  him,  according  to  another  hymn,  to 
take  her  for  his  wife,  in  order  to  perpetuate  the  species.  The  above  has 
a  very  suggestive  symbolical  meaning,  which  is  explained  in  Occultism. 
As  Dr.  ;Muir  truly  remarks,  the  Rig-Veda — the  greatest  authority  on  the 
primeval  myths  which  strike  the  original  key-note  of  the  themes  that 
underlie  all  the  subsequent  variations — nowhere  shows  Yama  "as  having 
anything  to  do  with  the  punishment  of  the  wicked".  As  king  and  judge 
of  the  dead,  a  Pluto  in  sliort,  Yama  is  a  far  later  creation.  One  has  to 
study  the  true  character  of  Yama-Yami  throughout  more  than  one 
hymn  and  epic  poem,  and  collect  the  various  accounts  scattered  in  dozens 
of  ancient   works,   and   then   he   will   obtain   a   consensus   of   allegorical 


GLOSSARY  349 

statements  which  will  be  found  to  corroborate  and  justify  the  Esoteric 
teaching,  that  Yama-Yami  is  the  symbol  of  the  dual  Manas,  in  one  of  its 
mystical  meanings.  For  instance,  Yami-Yami  is  always  represented  of 
a  gree^i  colour  and  clothed  with  red,  and  as  dwelling  in  a  palace  of 
copper  and  iran.  Students  of  Occultism  know  to  which  of  the  human 
"principles"  the  green  and  the  red  colours,  and  by  correspondence  the 
iran  and  copper  are  to  be  applied.  The  "twofold-ruler" — the  epithet 
of  Yama-Yami — is  regarded  in  the  exoteric  teachings  of  the  Chino- 
Buddhists  as  both  judge  and  criminal,  the  restrainer  of  his  own  evil 
doings  and  the  evil-doer  himself.  In  the  Hindu  epic  poems  Yama-Yami 
is  the  twin-child  of  the  Sun  (the  deity)  by  Sanjna  (spiritual  Conscious- 
ness) ;  but  while  Yama  is  the  Aryan  "lord  of  the  day",  appearing  as 
the  sj-mbol  of  spirit  in  the  East,  Yami  is  the  queen  of  the  night  (dark- 
ness, ignorance)  "who  opens  to  mortals  the  path  to  the  "West" — the  em- 
blem of  evil  and  matter.  In  the  Furdnas  Yama  has  many  wives  (many 
Yamis)  who  force  him  to  dwell  in  the  lower  world  (Patala,  Myalba, 
etc.  ,etc.)  ;  and  an  allegory  represents  him  with  his  foot  lifted  to  kick 
Chhdyd,  the  hand-maiden  of  his  father  (the  astral  body  of  his  mother, 
Sanjna,  a  metaphysical  aspect  of  Buddhi  or  Alaya).  As  stated  in  the 
Hindu  Scriptures,  a  soul  when  it  quits  its  mortal  frame,  repairs  to  its 
abode  in  the  lower  regions  (Kamaloka  or  Hades).  Once  there,  the 
Recorder,  the  Karmic  messenger  called  Chitragupta  (hidden  or  con- 
cealed brightness),  reads  out  his  account  from  the  Great  Register, 
wherein  during  the  life  of  the  human  being,  every  deed  and  thought  are 
indelibly  impressed — and,  according  to  the  sentence  pronounced,  the 
"soul"  either  ascends  to  the  abode  of  the  Pitris  (Devachan),  descends 
to  a  "hell"  (Kamaloka),  or  is  reborn  on  earth  in  another  human  form. 
The  student  of  Esoteric  philosophy  will  easily  recognise  the  bearings 
of  the  allegories. 

Yamabooshee,  or  Yamdbusi  (Jap.).  A  sect  in  Japan  of  very  ancient 
and  revered  mystics.  They  are  monks  "militant"  and  warriors,  if 
needed,  as  are  certain  Yogis  in  Rajputana  and  the  Lamas  in  Tibet.  This 
mystic  brotherhood  dwell  chiefly  near  Kioto,  and  are  renowned  for  their 
healing  powers,  says  the  Encyclopcedia,  which  translates  the  name 
"Hermit  Brothers":  "They  pretend  to  magical  arts,  and  live  in  the 
recesses  of  mountains  and  craggy  steeps,  whence  they  come  forth  to  tell 
fortunes  ( f),  write  charms  and  sell  amulets.  They  lead  a  mysterious  life 
and  admit  no  one  to  their  secrets,  except  after  a  tedious  and  difficult 
preparation  by  fasting  and  a  species  of  severe  gymnastic  exercise'^  (!  !). 

Yasna,  or  Yaqna  (Paid.).  The  third  portion  of  the  first  of  the  two 
parts  of  the  Avesta,  the  Scripture  of  the  Zoroastrian  Parsis.  The  Yasna 
is  composed  of  litanies  of  the  same  kind  as  the  Visperad  (the  second  por- 
tion) and  of  five  hymns  or  gdthas.  These  gdthas  are  the  oldest  fragments 
of  Zoroastrian  literature  known  to  the  Parsis,  for  they  are  written  "in  a 
special  dialect,  older  than  the  general  language  of  the  Avesta^'  (Darmes- 
teter).     (See  "Zend".) 


350  THKOSOPHICAL 

Yati  (Sk.).    A  mea.sui'c  of  ihwo  feet. 

YatUS,  or  YntiidhdiKis  (Sk.L  A  kind  of  nninial  foiiiud  (lemons.  Kso- 
ttj-ically.  liuMiiin  animal  pas.sioii.s. 

Yazathas  (Zend).  Pure  celestial  sitirits,  wliom  tlic  \'(  ndidad  shows 
once  upon  a  time  sliarin<r  their  food  with  moi'tals,  who  thus  pai-ticipatc  in 
tlieir  existence. 

Years  of  Brahma.  The  whoh'  period  of  "Brahma's  Ape"  (100 
Years'.     K<iuals  311,040.000.000.000  years.     (See  "Yuga".) 

Yeheedah  {Ilih.}.  Lit..  "Individuality";  esoterically,  the  highest 
individuality  or  Atma-Bnddhi-lManas  when  united  in  one.  This  doctrine 
is  in  the  Chaldean  Book  of  Numh(rs,  which  teaches  a  septenary  division 
of  human  "princi])les",  so-called,  as  does  the  Kahidah  in  the  Zohar, 
acconlinp  to  the  Book  of  Solomon  (iii.,  104a,  as  tran.slated  in  I.  Myer's 
Qdhlxdah).  At  the  time  of  the  conception,  the  Holy  "sends  a  d'yook- 
nah,  or  the  phantom  of  a  shadow  imape  "like  the  face  of  a  tnan.  It  is 
designed  and  sculptured  in  the  divine  tzelem,  i.e.,  the  shadow  image  of 
the  Elohim.  "Elohim  created  man  in  his  (their)  tzelem"  or  image,  says 
Genesis  (i.  27).  It  is  the  tzelew  that  awaits  the  child  and  receives  it 
at  the  moment  of  its  conception,  and  this  tzelem  is  our  linga  sharira. 
"The  Rva'h  forms  with  tlie  N( phrsh  the  actual  personality  of  the  man", 
and  also  his  individuality,  or,  as  expressed  hy  the  Kahhalist,  the  com- 
bination of  the  two  is  called,  if  he  (man)  deserves  it.  Yeheedah.  This 
combination  is  that  which  the  Theosophist  calls  the  dual  Manas,  the 
Higher  and  the  Lower  Ego,  united  to  Atma-Buddhi  and  become  one. 
For  as  explained  in  the  Zohar  (i.,  20r)&,  206a,  Brody  Ed.)  :  "Neshamah. 
soul  (Buddhi),  comprises  three  degrees,  and  therefore  she  has  three 
names,  like  the  mystery  above:  that  is,  Nephesh,  Rua'h,  Neshamah",  or 
the  Lower  IVIanas,  the  Higher  Ego,  and  Buddhi,  the  Divine  Soul.  "It 
is  also  to  be  noted  that  the  Neshamah  has  three  divisions;"  says  Myer's 
Qahhalah,  "the  highest  is  the  Ye-hee-dah" — or  Atma-Buddhi-Manas,  the 
latter  once  more  as  a  unit;  "the  middle  principle  is  Hay-yah" — or 
Buddhi  and  the  dual  Manas;  "and  the  last  and  third  the  Neshamah, 
properly  speaking" — or  Soul  in  general.  "They  manifest  themselves 
in  Ma'hshahah,  thought,  Tzelem,  phantom  of  the  image,  Zurath,  proto- 
types (mayavic  forms,  or  rupas),  and  the  D'yooknah,  shadow  of  the 
phantom  image.  The  D'mooth,  likeness  or  similitude  (physical  body), 
is  a  lower  manifestation"  (p.  392).  Here  then,  we  find  the  faithful  echo 
of  Esoteric  science  in  the  Zohar  and  other  Kabbalistic  works,  a  perfect 
Esoteric  septenary  division.  Every  Theosophist  who  has  studied  the 
doctrine  sketched  out  first  in  Mr.  Sinnett's  Occult  World  and  Esoteric 
Buddhism,  and  later  in  the  Theosophut,  Lucifer,  and  other  writings, 
will  recogni.se  them  in  the  Zohar.  Compare  for  instance  what  is  taught 
in  Theosophical  works  about  the  pre-  and  post-mortem  states  of  the  tliree 
higher  and  the  four  lower  liuman  principles,  with  the  following  from  the 
Zohar:  "Because  all  these  three  are  one  knot  like  the  above  in  the 
mystery  of  Nephesh,  Rua'h,  Neshamah,  they  are  all  one,  and  bound  in 


GLOSSARY  351 

one.  Nephesh  (Kama-Manas)  has  no  light  from  her  own  substance ;  and 
it  is  for  this  reason  that  she  is  associated  with  the  mystery  of  guff,  the 
body,  to  procure  enjoyment  and  food  and  everything  which  it  needs. 
.  .  .  Rua'h  (the  Spirit)  is  that  which  rides  on  that  Nephesh  (the  lower 
soul)  and  rules  over  her  and  lights  (supplies)  her  with  everything  she 
needs  [i.e.,  with  the  light  of  reason],  and  the  Nephesh  is  the  throne 
[vehicle]  of  that  Ru'ah.  Neshamah  (Divine  Soul)  goes  over  to  that 
Rua'A,  and  she  rules  over  that  Rua'h  and  lights  to  him  with  that  Light 
of  Life,  and  that  Rua'h  depends  on  the  Neshamah  and  receives  light 
from  her,  which  illuminates  him,  .  .  .  When  the  'upper'  Neshamah 
ascends  (after  the  death  of  the  body)  she  goes  to  .  .  .  the  Ancient  of 
the  Ancient,  the  Hidden  of  all  the  Hidden,  to  receive  Eternity.  The 
Rua'h  does  not  [yet]  go  to  Gan  Eden  [Devachan]  because  he  is 
[mixed  up  with]  Nephesh  ...  the  Rua'h  goes  up  to  Eden,  but  not 
so  high  as  the  soul,  and  Nephesh  [the  animal  principle,  lower  soul] 
remains  in  the  grave  below  [or  Kamaloka]."  (Zohar,  ii.,  142a,  Cremona 
Ed.,  ii.,  fol.  63&,  col.  252).  It  would  be  difficult  not  to  recognise  in  the 
above  our  Atma  (or  the  "upper"  Neshamah),  Buddhi  (Neshamah). 
Manas  (Rua'h),  and  Kama-Manas  (Nephesh)  or  the  lower  animal  soul; 
the  first  of  which  goes  after  the  death  of  man  to  join  its  integral  whole, 
the  second  and  the  third  proceeding  to  Devachan,  and  the  last,  or  the 
Kamarupa,  "remaining  in  its  grave",  called  otherwise  the  Kamaloka 
or  Hades. 

Yene  Anganta.  The  meaning  of  the  Angdnta  Yene  is  known  to  all 
India.  It  is  the  action  of  an  elemental  (hhut),  who,  drawn  into  the 
sensitive  and  passive  body  of  a  medium,  takes  possession  of  it.  In  other 
words,  angdnta  yene  means  literally  "obsession".  The  Hindus  dread 
such  a  calamity  now  as  strongly  as  they  did  thousands  of  years  ago. 
"No  Hindu,  Tibetan,  or  Sinhalese,  unless  of  the  lowest  caste  and  intel- 
ligence, can  see,  without  a  shudder  of  horror,  the  signs  of  'mediumship' 
manifest  themselves  in  a  member  of  his  family,  or  without  saying,  as  a 
Christian  would  do  now,  'he  hath  the  devil'.'  This  'gift,  blessing,  and 
holy  mission',  so  called  in  England  and  America,  is,  among  tlie  older 
peoples,  in  the  cradle-lands  of  our  race,  where  longer  experience  than 
ours  has  taught  them  more  spiritual  wisdom,  regarded  as  a  dire  mis- 
fortune." 

Yesod  (He}).).    The  ninth  Sephira ;  meaning  Basis  or  Foundation. 

Yetzirah  (Hcl.).  The  third  of  the  Four  Kabbalistic  Worlds,  referred 
to  the  Angels;  the  "W^orld  of  Formation",  or  Olam  Yetzirah.  It  is  also 
called  Malahayah,  or  "of  the  Angels".  It  is  the  abode  of  all  the  ruling 
Genii  (or  Angels)  who  control  and  rule  planets,  worlds  and  spheres. 

Yeu  (Chin.).  "Being",  a  synonym  of  Suhhdva;  or  "the  Substance 
giving  substance  to  itself". 

Yggdrasil  (Scand.).  The  "World  Tree  of  the  Norse  Cosmogony;  the 
ash  Yggdrasil;  the  tree  of  the  Universe,  of  time  and  of  life".  It  has 
three  roots,  which  reach  down  to  cold  Hel,  and  spread  thence  to  Jotun- 


352  riiKosui'JiicAL 

heim,  tlif  land  of  the  lliinitluirsis.  or  "Fmst  (iianls".  and  to  Midpjard. 
the  cartli  and  d\V('l!«in<r  of  tlit-  cliildrcn  of  men.  Its  iippcr  ])ou^'lis  stroteli 
out  into  heaven,  and  its  liifrlicst  hraneh  overshadows  Wallialla,  the 
Devaehan  of  the  faHen  heroes.  The  Y^'frdi'asil  is  ever  fresh  and  jrreen. 
.IS  it  is  daily  sprinkled  by  tiie  Norn.s,  the  three  fateful  sisters,  the  Past, 
the  Present,  and  the  Future,  with  the  waters  of  life  from  the  fountain 
of  Urd  that  flows  on  our  earth.  It  will  wither  and  disaj^pear  only  on 
the  day  when  the  last  battle  between  jrood  an<l  evil  is  fought ;  wlien. 
the  fornit-r  prt-vailiiifr,  life,  tinit-  and  space  j)ass  out  of  life  and  space 
and  time. 

Every  ancient  people  had  their  world-tree.  The  Babylonians  had 
tlieir  "tree  of  life"  which  was  the  world-tree,  who.se  roots  penetrated 
into  the  f?reat  low«>r  deep  or  Hades,  whose  trunk  was  on  the  earth,  and 
who.se  upper  boujrhs  reached  Zikum.  the  hijrhest  heaven  above.  Instead 
of  in  Wallialla.  they  placed  its  upper  foliajre  in  the  holy  house  of  Dav- 
kina.  the  "great  mother''  of  Tammuz,  the  Saviour  of  the  world — the 
Sun-frod  put  to  death  by  the  enemies  of  liplit. 

Yi-King  (Chin.).  An  ancient  Chine.se  work,  wi-itten  by  generations 
of  .sages. 

Yima  (Zend).  In  the  Vcndiddd,  the  first  man,  and,  from  his  aspect 
of  spiritual  progenitor  of  mankind,  the  same  as  Yama  (q.v.).  Ilis  fur- 
ther functions  are  not  given  in  the  Zend  books,  because  so  many  of 
the.se  ancient  fragments  have  been  lost,  made  away  with,  or  otherwis" 
|)revented  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  i)rofane.  Yima  was  not 
horn,  for  he  represents  the  first  tliree  human  Root-races,  the  first  of 
which  is  "not  born";  but  he  is  the  "first  man  who  dies",  because  the 
third  race,  the  one  which  \vas  informed  by  the  rational  Higher  Egos,  was 
the  first  one  whose  men  separated  into  male  and  female,  and  "man  lived 
and  died,  and  was  reborn".     (See  Secret  Doctrine,  II..  jip.  609  et  seq.) 

Ymir  (Scand.).  The  i)ersonified  matter  of  our  globe  in  a  seething 
condition.  The  co.smie  monster  in  the  form  of  a  giant,  who  is  killed  in 
the  cosmogonical  allegories  of  the  Eeldas  by  the  three  creators,  the  sons 
of  Bor,  Odin,  Wili  and  We,  who  are  said  to  have  conquered  Ymir  and 
ereated  the  world  out  of  his  body.  This  allegory  shows  the  three  prin- 
cipal forces  of  naturt — separation,  fornuition  and  growth  (or  evolution) 
— conquering  the  unruly,  raging  "giant"  matter,  and  forcing  it  to  be- 
come a  world,  or  an  inhabited  globe.  It  is  curious  that  an  ancient, 
primitive  and  uncultured  pagan  people,  so  philosophical  and  scientific- 
ally correct  in  their  views  about  the  origin  and  formation  of  the  earth, 
.should,  in  order  to  be  regarded  as  civilized,  have  to  accept  the  dognui 
that  the  world  was  created  out  of  nothing! 

Yod  (Ifeh.).  The  tenth  letter  of  the  alphabet,  the  fir.st  in  the  four- 
fold .symbol  of  the  compound  name  Jali-hovali  (Jehovah)  or  Jah-Evc. 
the  hermaj)hrodite  force  and  existence  in  nature.  Without  the  later 
vowels,  the  word  Jehovah  is  written  IHVH  (the  letter  Yod  standing 
for  all  the  three  English  letters  ?/,  i.  or  j.  as  the  case  may  require),  and  is 


GLOSSARY  353 

male-female.  TIk;  letter  Yod  is  the  symbol  of  the  lingham,  or  male 
organ,  in  its  natural  triple  form,  as  the  Kabalah  shows.  The  second 
letter  He,  has  for  its  symbol  the  yoni,  the  womb  or  "window-opening", 
as  the  Kahalah  has  it;  the  symbol  of  the  third  letter,  the  Vau,  is  a  crook 
or  a  nail  (the  bishop's  crook  having  its  origin  in  tliis),  another  male 
letter  and  the  fourth  is  the  same  as  the  second — the  wliole  meaning  to  he 
or  to  exist  under  one  of  these  forms  or  botli.  Thus  the  word  or  name  is 
pre-eminently  phallic.  It  is  that  of  the  fighting  god  of  the  Jews,  "Lord 
of  Hosts";  of  the  "aggressive  Yod"  or  Zodh,  Cain  (by  permutation), 
who  slciv  his  female  brother,  Abel,  and  spilt  his  (her)  blood.  This  name, 
selected  out  of  many  by  the  early  Christian  writers,  w^as  an  unfortunate 
one  for  their  religion  on  account  of  its  associations  and  original  signif- 
icance;  it  is  a  nu7nbcr  at  best,  an  organ  in  reality.  This  letter  Yod  has 
passed  into  God  and  Gott. 

Yoga  (Sk.).  (1)  One  of  the  six  Darshanas  or  schools  of  India;  a 
school  of  philosophy  founded  by  Patanjali,  though  the  real  Yoga  doc- 
trine, the  one  that  is  said  to  have  helped  to  prepare  the  world  for  the 
preaching  of  Buddha,  is  attributed  with  good  reasoils  to  the  more  ancient 
sage  Yajnawalkya,  the  writer  of  the  Shatapatha  Brdhmana,  of  Yajur 
Veda,  the  Brihad  Aranyaka,  and  other  famous  w^orks.  (2)  The  practice 
of  meditation  as  a  means  of  leading  to  spiritual  liberation.  Psycho- 
spiritual  powers  are  obtained  thereby,  and  induced  ecstatic  states  lead 
to  the  clear  and  correct  perception  of  the  eternal  truths,  in  both  the 
visible  and  invisible  universe. 

Yogacharya  (Sk.).  (1)  A  mystic  school.  (2)  Lit.,  a  teacher  (achdrya) 
of  Yoga,  one  who  has  mastered  the  doctrines  and  practices  of  ecstatic 
meditation — the  culmination  of  which  are  the  Mahdsieldhis.  It  is  incor- 
rect to  confuse  tliis  school  with  the  Tantra,  or  Maliatantra  school  founded 
by  Samantabhadra,  for  there  are  two  Yogachar^-a  Schools,  one  esoteric, 
the  other  popular.  The  doctrines  of  the  latter  were  compiled  and  glossed 
by  Asamgha  in  the  sixth  century  of  our  era,  and  his  mystic  tantras  and 
mantras,  his  formularies,  litanies,  spells  and  mudras,  would  certainly, 
if  attempted  without  a  Guru,  serve  rather  purposes  of  sorcery  and  black 
magic  than  real  Yoga.  Those  who  undertake  to  write  upon  the  subject 
are  generally  learned  missionaries  and  haters  of  Eastern  philosophy  in 
general.  t>om  these  no  unbiassed  views  can  be  expected.  Thus  when 
we  read  in  the  Sanskrit-Chinese  Dictionary  of  Eitel,  that  the  reciting 
of  mantras  (which  he  calls  "spells"!)  "should  be  accompanied  by  nuisie 
and  distortions  of  the  fingers  (mudrd),  that  a  state  of  mental  fixity 
(Samddhi)  might  be  reached" — one  acquainted,  however  slightly,  with 
the  real  practice  of  Yoga  can  only  shrug  his  shoulders.  These  distortions 
of  the  fingers  or  mudrd  are  necessary,  the  author  thinks,  for  the  reaching 
of  Samadhi,  "charactei-ized  by  there  being  neither  thought  nor  annihila- 
tion of  thought,  and  consisting  of  six-fold  bodily  (sic)  and  mental  ha])- 
piness  (yogi)  whence  would  result  cndownu  nt  with  sup(  rnatural  miracli- 
ivorking  power".  Theosophists  cannot  be  too  miieh  warned  against  such 
fantastic  and  prejudiced  explanations. 


354 


TIIKOSOI'UICAI. 


Yogi  (Six-.).  (1)  Not  "a  state  of  six  fold  bodilii  ami  iiiciilal  liapi)iin'S.s 
as  the  result  of  ecstatie  meditation"  (Kitel);  hut  a  state  whieli.  when 
reaehed,  ni;ikes  the  praetitiont-r  thereof  ahsolutr  nujstcr  of  his  six  "prin- 
ciples", hi  now  btituj  merged  in  the  sivcnlh.  It  ^ivis  him  full  control, 
owinpr  to  his  knowledfje  of  Sklf  and  .SV7/,  over  his  bodily,  intellectual 
and  mental  states,  which,  unable  any  lon<;cr  to  interfere  with,  or  act 
upon,  his  Ili^'her  Kj;o,  leave  it  free  to  exist  in  its  orif,nnal,  i)uri'.  and 
divine  state.     (2)   Also  the  name  of  the  devotee  who  j)racti.ses  Yoga. 

Yong-Griib  (Tib.).    A  state  of  absolute  rest,  the  same  as  Paranirvana. 

Yoni  (Sk.).    The  womb,  the  female  principle. 

Yudishthira  (Sk.).  One  of  the  heroes  of  the  .Mnkdbhnrata.  Tlie  eld- 
est brother  of  tiie  Pandavas.  or  the  live  Pandii  princes  who  fought 
against  their  next  of  kin,  the  Kauravas.  the  sons  of  their  maternal  uncle. 
Arjuna,  the  disciple  of  Krishna,  was  his  younger  brother.  The 
Bhagavad  Gitd  gives  mystical  particulars  of  this  war.  Kunti  was  the 
mother  of  the  Pandavas,  and  Ih'aupadi  the  wife  in  common  of  the  five 
brother.s — an  allegory.  But  Yudishtliira  is  also,  as  well  as  Krishna. 
Arjuna.  and  so  many  other  heroes,  an  historical  character,  who  lived 
some  5.000  years  ago.  at  the  period  when  the  Kali  Yuga  set  in. 

Yuga  (Sk.).  A  1,000th  part  of  a  Kalpa.  An  age  of  the  AVorld  of 
which  there  are  four,  and  the  series  of  which  proceed  in  succession 
during  the  manvantaric  cycle.  Each  Y'uga  is  preceded  by  a  period 
called  in  the  Purdnas  Sandliya.  twilight,  or  transition  period,  and  is 
followed  by  another  period  of  like  duration  called  Sandhyansa.  "portion 
of  twilight".  P]aeh  is  equal  to  one-tenth  of  the  Y''uga.  The  group  of 
four  Yugas  is  first  computed  by  the  divine  years,  or  "years  of  the  gods" 
— each  such  year  being  equal  to  360  years  of  'mortal  men.  Thus  we 
have,  in  "divine"  years: 


1.  Krita  or  Satya  Yuga 
JSandhyri 
Sandhya«sa 

2.  Treta  Yuga 
Sandhya 
Sandhyansa 

3.  Dwapara  Yuga 
Sandhya 
Sandiiyansa 

4.  Kali  Yuga 
Sandhya 

Sandlivansa 


4,000 
400 
400 

3,000 
300 
300 

2,000 
200 
200 

1 .000 
100 
100 

Total  12.000 


4,800 


3.600 


2,400 


1.200 


GU)SSARY  355 


Thiii  rendered  in  years  of  mortals  equals: 

4800  X  360  =  1,728,000 

3G00  X  360  =  1,296,000 

2400  X  360  =     864,000 

1200  X  360  =     432,000 


Total  4,320,000 

The  above  is  called  a  IMaiiayuga  or  Alanvantara.  2,000  such  Maha- 
yugas,  or  a  period  of  8,640,000,000  years,  make  a  Kalpa:  the  latter 
being  only  a  "day  and  a  night",  or  twenty-four  hours,  of  Brahma.  Thus 
an  "age  of  Brahma",  or  one  hundred  of  his  divine  years,  must  equal 
;i  11,040,000,000,000  of  our  mortal  years.  The  old  Mazdeans  or  Magi 
(the  modern  Parsis)  had  the  same  calculation,  though  the  Orientalists 
do  not  seem  to  perceive  it,  for  even  the  Parsi  Mobeds  themselves  have 
forgotten  it.  But  their  "Sovereign  Time  of  the  Long  Period"  (Zervan 
Darcgho  Hvaddta)  lasts  12,000  years,  and  these  are  the  12,000  divine 
years  of  a  Mahayuga  as  shown  above,  whereas  the  Zervan  Akarana 
(Limitless  Time),  mentioned  by  Zarathustra,  is  the  Kdla,  out  of  space 
and  time  ;  of  Parabrahm. 

Yurbo  Adonai.  A  contemptuous  epithet  given  by  the  followers  of 
the  yazar(  m   Codex,  the  St.  John  Gnostics,  to  the  Jehovah  of  the  Jews. 

Yiirmungander  (Scand.).  A  name  of  the  Midgard  snake  in  the  Edda, 
whose  brother  is  Wolf  Fenris,  and  whose  sister  is  the  homble  monster 
Hel— the  three  children  of  wicked  Loki  and  Augurboda  (carrier  of 
anguish),  a  dreaded  giantess.  The  mundane  snake  of  the  Norsemen,  the 
monster  created  b^'  Loki  but  fashioned  by  the  constant  putrid  emana- 
tions from  the  body  of  the  slain  giant  Ymir  (the  matter  of  our  globe), 
and  producing  in  its  turn  a  constant  emanation,  which  serves  as  a  veil 
between  heaven  and  earth,  i.e.,  the  Astral  Liglit. 


356  THKOSOIMIlt    \l. 


Z. 


Z-i« — Till'  2()th  lottt  r  of  the  En*?lisli  alphabet.  It  stands  as  a  mimcral 
for  2,000,  and  with  a  dash  over  it  thus,  Z,  equals  2,000,000.  It  is  the 
seventh  letter  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet — zayin,  its  symbol  being  a  kind  of 
Egyptian  sceptre,  a  weapon.  The  zayin  is  equivalent  to  number  seven. 
The  number  twenty-si.x  is  held  most  sacred  by  the  Kabbalists,  being  equal 
to  the  numerical  value  of  the  letters  of  the  Tetragrammaton — thus: 

he     vau      he       yod 

5  +  6  +  5  +  10  =  26. 

Zabulon  (Hrh.).  The  abode  of  God,  the  tenth  Devaehan  in  degree. 
llriier  Zal)ulon  the  tenth  son  of  Jacob. 

Zacchai  (Tlrb.).    One  of  the  deity-names, 

Zadok  (Ifrh.).  According  to  .Tosephus  (see  Antiquities,  x..  8,  §6), 
Zadok  was  the  first  High-Priest  llierophant  of  Solomon's  High  Temple, 
^lasons  connect  him  with  some  of  their  degrees, 

Zalmat  Gagnadi  (Ahhad.).  Lit.,  "the  dark  race",  the  first  that  fell 
into  fr<nerati(in  in  the  Babylonian  legends.  The  Adamic  race,  one  of  the 
two  prineijjal  races  that  existed  at  the  time  of  the  "Fall  of  Man"  (hence 
our  third  Root-race),  the  other  being  called  SarJai,  or  the  "light  race". 
(Secret  Doctrine,  II.,  5.) 

Zampun  (Tib.).  The  sacred  tree  of  life,  having  many  mystic  meanings. 

Zarathustra  (Zend).  Tlie  great  lawgiver,  and  the  founder  of  the 
religion  variously  called  ]\Iazdaism,  ]\Iagism.  Parseeism,  Fire-Wor.ship. 
and  Zoroastrianism.  The  age  of  the  last  Zoroaster  (for  it  is  a  generic 
name)  is  not  known,  and  perhaps  for  that  very  reason.  Xanthus  of 
Lydia,  the  earliest  Greek  writer  who  mentions  this  great  lawgiver  and 
religious  reformer,  places  him  about  six  hundred  years  before  the  Trojan 
War,  But  where  is  the  historian  who  can  now  tell  when  the  latter  took 
place?  Ari.stotle  and  also  Phidoxus  assign  him  a  date  of  no  less  than  6,000 
years  before  the  days  of  Plato,  and  Aristotle  was  not  one  to  make  a  state- 
ment without  a  good  reason  for  it,  Berosus  makes  him  a  king  of  Babylon 
some  2,200  years  b,c,  ;  but  then,  how  can  one  tell  what  were  the  original 
figures  of  Berosus,  before  his  MSS,  passed  through  the  hands  of  Euse- 
bius,  whose  fingers  were  so  deft  at  altering  figures,  whether  in  Egyptian 
.synchronistic  tables  or  in  Chaldean  chronology?  Ilaug  refers  Zoroaster 
to  at  least  1,000  years  h,c.  ;  and  Bun.sen  ((lod  in  history,  Vol.  I.,  Book 
III.,  eh.  vi.,  p.  27()  I  finds  that  Zarathustra  Spitama  lived  under  the  King 
Vi.staspa  al)out  :},000  years  B.C.,  and  describes  him  as  "one  of  the  might- 
iest intellects  and  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  all  time".  It  is  with  such 
(Tact  dates  in  hand,  and  with  the  utterly  extinct  language  of  the  Zend, 


GLOSSARY  357 

whose  teachings  are  rendered,  probably  in  the  most  desultory  nianni'r. 
by  the  Pahlavi  translation — a  tongue,  as  shown  by  Darmsteter  whicii 
was  itself  growing  obsolete  so  far  back  as  thd  Sassanides — that  our 
scholars  and  Orientalists  have  i)resumed  to  monopolise  to  themselves  the 
right  of  assigning  hypothetical  dates  for  the  age  of  the  holy  j)rophet 
Zurthust.  But  the  Occult  records  claim  to  have  the  correct  dates  of  each 
of  the  thirteen  Zoroasters  mentioned  in  the  Dabistan.  Their  doctrines, 
and  especially  those  of  the  last  (divine)  Zoroaster,  spread  from  Bactria 
to  the  Medes;  thence,  under  the  name  of  Magism,  incorporated  by  the 
Adept-Astronomers  in  Chaldea,  they  greatly  influenced  the  mystic  teach- 
ings of  the  Mosaic  doctrines,  even  before,  perhaps,  they  had  culminated 
into  what  is  now  known  as  the  modern  religion  of  tlie  Parsis.  Like  ]\Ianu 
and  Vyasa  in  India,  Zarathustra  is  a  generic  name  for  great  reformers 
and  law-givers.  The  hierarchy  began  with  the  divine  Zaratliustra  in  the 
VcndMdd,  and  ended  with  the  great,  but  mortal  man,  bearing  that  title, 
and  now  lost  to  history.  There  were,  as  shown  by  the  Dabistan,  many 
Zoroasters  or  Zarathustras.  As  related  in  the  Secret  Doctrine,  Vol.  II., 
the  last  Zoroaster  was  the  founder  of  the  Fire-temple  of  Azareksh,  many 
ages  before  the  historical  era.  Had  not  Alexander  destroyed  so  many 
sacred  and  precious  works  of  the  ]\lazdeans,  truth  and  philosophy  would 
have  been  more  inclined  to  agree  with  histor\',  in  bestowing  upon  that 
Greek  Vandal  the  title  of  "the  Great". 

Zarpanitu  (Akkad.).  The  goddess  who  was  the  supposed  mother,  by 
Merodach,  of  Ncbo,  god  of  Wisdom.  One  of  the  female  "Serpents  of 
Wisdom". 

Zelator.  The  lowest  degree  in  the  exoteric  Rosicrucian  system;  a 
kind  of  probationer  or  low  chela. 

Zend-Avesta  (Pahl.).  The  general  name  for  the  sacred  books  of  the 
Parsis,  fire  or  sun  worshippers,  as  they  are  ignorantly  called.  So  little 
is  understood  of  the  grand  doctrines  which  are  still  found  in  the  various 
fragments  that  compose  all  that  is  now  left  of  that  collection  of  religious 
works,  that  Zoroastrianism  is  called  indifferently  Fire-worship,  Maz- 
daism,  or  Magism,  Dualism,  Sun-worship,  and  what  not.  The  Avcsta  has 
two  parts  as  now  collected  together,  the  first  portion  containing  the 
Venduldd,  the  Visperad  and  the  Yasna;  and  the  second  portion,  called 
the  Khorda  Avcsta  (Small  Avesta),  being  composed  of  short  prayers 
called  Gah,  Nyayish,  etc.  Zend  means  "a  commentary  or  explanation", 
and  Avesta  (from  the  old  Persian  dbashid,  "the  law". '  (See  Darmsteter.) 
As  the  translator  of  the  Vrndiddd  remarks  in  a  foot  note  (see  Int.  xxx.)  : 
"what  it  is  customary  to  call  'the  Zend  language',  ought  to  be  named 
'the  Avesta  language',  the  Zend  being  no  languuage  at  all;  and  if  the 
word  be  used  as  the  designation  of  one,  it  can  be  rightly  applied  only  to 
the  Pahlavi".  But  then,  the  Pahlavi  it.self  is  only  the  language  into 
which  certain  original  portions  of  the  Avcsta  are  translated.  What  name 
should  be  given  to  the  old  Avcsta  language,  and  particularly  to  the 
"special    dialect,    older    than    the    general    language    of    the    Avesta" 


:i5H  TlIKOeOPHICAL 

(I)arinst.),  in  which  tin-  tivi-  Gatha.s  in  the  Y<isna  iwo  written?  To  tiiis 
(lay  the  Orientalists  are  nnite  uiton  the  subject.  Why  should  not  the 
Zend  be  of  tiie  same  family,  if  not  identical  with  the  Zvn-sar,  meanin<? 
also  the  speech  explaining  the  abstract  symbol,  or  the  "mystery  lan- 
U'uaj^e",  used  by   Initiates? 

Zervana  Akarna,  or  /rrdna  Alinnui.  (I'aJiL).  As  translated  from  tli.- 
\'(  nilidi'iil  I  l''arjiard  xix),  lit.,  "  Houndless",  or  "Limitless  Time'',  or 
"Duration  in  a  Circle".  Mystically  the  Jie^innini^less  and  the  Endless 
One  Principle  in  Nature;  the  Sat  of  the  Vedanta ;  and  esoterically,  the 
Universal  Abstract  Space  synonymous  with  the  Unknowable  Deity.  It  is 
the  Ain-Soph  of  the  Zoroastrians,  out  of  which  radiates  Ahura  Mazda, 
the  eternal  Li^ht  or  Lof^os,  from  which  in  its  turn,  emanates  everythiiif; 
that  has  beinjj,  existence  and  form. 

Zeus  (dr.).  The  "Father  of  the  ^'ods".  Zcus-Zcn  is  ./Ether,  there- 
lore  .lupitt-r  was  Pater  ^tlier  by  .some  Latin  races. 

Zicu  (Ahkad.).     Primordial  matter,  from  Zi,  spirit-.substance,  Zikum 

and   Zi(}arum. 

Zio  (Scand.).  Also  Tyr  and  Tins.  A  god  in  the  Eddas  who  conquers 
and  chains  Fenris-Wolf,  when  the  latt<3r  threatened  the  gods  themselves 
in  Asgard,  and  lost  a  hand  in  the  battle  with  the  monster.  He  is  the 
god  of  war,  and  was  greatly  worshipped  by  the  ancient  Germans. 

Zipporah  (Hch.).  Lit.,  the  shining,  the  radiant.  In  the  Biblical 
allegory  of  Genesis,  Zipporah  is  one  of  the  seven  daughters  of  Jethro,  the 
^lidianite  priest,  the  Initiator  of  Closes,  who  meets  Zipporah  (or  .spiritual 
light)  near  the  "well"  (of  occult  knowledge)  and  marries  her. 

Zirat-banit  (Chuhl.).  The  wife  of  the  great  divine  hero  of  the  Assyr- 
ian tablets,  Merodach.  She  is  identified  with  the  Succoth  Benoth  of  the 
Bibb-. 

Ziruph  (Ilch.).  More  properly  Tziruj)!!,  a  mode  of  divination  by 
Temura,  or  i)ermutation  of  letters,  taught  by  the  media-val  Kabbalists. 
The  .school  of  Rabbis  Abulafia  and  Gikatilla  laid  the  most  stress  on  the 
value  of  this  process  of  the  Practical  Kahalah.     [w.w.w.] 

Zodiac  (Or.).  From  the  word  zodion,  a  diminutive  of  zoon,  animal. 
This  word  is  used  in  a  dual  meaning;  it  may  refer  to  the  fixed  and  in- 
tellectual Zodiac,  or  to  the  movable  and  natural  Zodiac.  "In  astronomy", 
says  Science,  "it  is  an  imaginary  belt  in  the  heavens  16°  or  18°  broad, 
through  the  middle  of  which  passes  the  sun's  path  (the  ecliptic)."  It 
contains  the  twelve  con.stellations  which  constitute  the  twelve  signs  of  the 
Zodiac,  and  from  which  they  are  named.  As  the  nature  of  the  zodiacal 
light — that  elongated,  luminous,  triangular  figure  which,  lying  almost  in 
the  eclij^tie,  with  its  base  on  th<'  horizon  and  its  apex  at  greater  and 
smaller  altitudes,  is  to  be  .seen  only  during  the  morning  and  evening 
twilight.s — is  entirely  unknown  to  .science  the  origin  and  real  significance 
and  occult  meaning  of  the  Zodiac  were,  and  are  still,  a  mystery,  to  all 
save  the    Initiates.     The  latter  preserved  their  secrets  well.     Between 


GLOSSARY  359 

the  Chaldean  star-gazer  and  tlju  modern  astrologer  there  lies  to  tliis 
day  a  wide  giilf  indeed ;  and  they  wander,  in  the  words  of  Alhumazar. 
"  'twixt  the  poles,  and  heavenly  liinges,  'mongst  eccentricals,  centres, 
coneentricks,  circles  and  epicycles",  with  vain  pretence  to  more  than 
profane  human  skill.  Yet,  some  of  the  astrologers,  from  Tycho  Brah- 
and  Kepler  of  astrological  memory,  down  to  the  modern  Zadkiels  and 
Rapiiaels,  have  contrived  to  make  a  wonderful  science  from  such  scanty 
occult  materials  as  they  have  had  in  hand  from  Ptolemy  downwards. 
(See  "Astrology".)  To  return  to  the  astrological  Zodiac  proper,  how- 
ever, it  is  an  imaginary  circle  passing  round  the  earth  in  the  plane  of  the 
equator,  its  first  point  being  called  Aries  0°.  It  is  divided  into  twelve 
equal  parts  called  "Signs  of  the  Zodiac",  each  containing  30°  of  space, 
and  on  it  is  measured  the  right  ascension  of  celestial  bodies.  The  movable 
or  natural  Zodiac  is  a  succession  of  constellations  forming  a  belt  of  47° 
in  width,  lying  north  and  south  of  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic.  The  pre- 
cession of  the  Equinoxes  is  caused  by  the  "motion"  of  the  sun  through 
space,  which  makes  the  constellations  appear  to  move  forward  against 
the  order  of  the  signs  at  the  rate  of  50 V;}' seconds  per  year.  A  simple 
calculation  will  show  that  at  this  rate  the  constellation  Taurus  (Hcb. 
Aleph)  was  in  the  first  sign  of  the  Zodiac  at  the  beginning  of  the  Kali 
Yuga,  and  consequently  the  Equinoctial  point  fell  therein.  At  this  time, 
also,  Leo  was  in  the  summer  solstice,  Scorpio  in  the  autumnal  Equinox, 
and  Aquarius  was  in  the  winter  solstice ;  and  these  facts  form  the 
astronomical  key  to  half  the  religious  mysteries  of  tlie  world — the  Chris- 
tian scheme  included.  The  Zodiac  was  known  in  India  and  Egypt  for 
incalculable  ages,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  sages  (magi)  of  these  coun- 
tries, with  regard  to  the  occult  influence  of  the  stars  and  heavenly  bodies 
on  our  earth,  was  far  greater  than  profane  astronomy  can  ever  hope  to 
reach  to.  If,  even  now,  when  most  of  the  secrets  of  the  Asuramayas  and 
the  Zoroasters  are  lost,  it  is  still  amply  shown  that  horoscopes  and  judici- 
ary astrology  are  far  from  being  based  on  fiction,  and  if  such  men  as 
Kepler  and  even  Sir  Isaac  Newton  believed  that  stars  and  constellations 
influenced  the  destiny  of  our  globe  and  its  humanities,  it  requires  no 
great  stretch  of  faith  to  believe  that  men  who  were  initiated  into  all  the 
mysteries  of  nature,  as  well  as  into  astronomy  and  astrology,  knew 
precisely  in  what  way  nations  and  mankind,  whole  races  as  well  as 
individuals  would  be  affected  by  the  so-called  "signs  of  the  Zodiac". 

Zohak,  or  Azhi  Ddhaka.  The  personification  of  the  Evil  One  or  Satan 
under  the  shape  of  a  serpent,  in  the  Zend  Avcsta.  This  serpent  is  three- 
headed,  one  of  the  heads  being  human.  The  Avcsta  describes  it  as  dwell- 
ing in  the  region  of  Bauri  or  Babylonia.  In  reality  Zohak  is  the  allegor- 
ical symbol  of  the  Assyrian  dynasty,  whose  banner  had  on  it  the  purple 
sign  of  the  dragon.     (Isis  Unveiled,  Vol.  II..  p.  486,  n.) 

Zohar,  or  Sohar.  A  compendium  of  Kabbalistic  Theosophy,  wliieh 
shares  witli  the  Sephc)-  Yetzirah  tlie  reputation  of  being  the  oldest  extant 
treatise  on  the  Hebrew  esoteric  religious  doctrines.  Tradition  assigns 
its  authorship  to  Rabbi  Simeon  ben  Jochai,  a.d.  80,  but  modern  criticism 


360  TUKOSOPHICAL 

is  inclined  to  hflicvf  that  a  vi-rv  lar«;(>  portion  of  tlic  volume  is  no  older 
than  1280.  wlicn  it  was  ctTtainly  edited  and  pnblishi-d  by  Ral)l)i  Moses 
de  Leon,  of  Guadalaxara  in  Spain.  Tiie  reader  sliouhi  consnlt  the  refer- 
ences to  these  two  names.  In  Lucifer,  (Vol.  1..  p.  141)  will  he  found  also 
notes  on  this  subject:  further  discussion  will  be  attainable  in  the  works 
of  Zunz.  Oraetz,  Jost,  Stt'insehneider.  Frankel  and  Ginsburj;.  Th<» 
work  of  Franek  (in  French)  ui)on  the  Kdhdlah  may  be  referred  to  with 
advantage.  The  truth  .seems  to  lie  in  a  middle  path,  viz.,  that  while 
Moses  de  Leon  was  the  first  to  i)r<iduce  th<»  volume  as  a  whole  yet  a 
larjrc  part  of  some  of  its  constituent  tracts  consist  of  traditional  do{»mas 
and  illustrations,  which  have  come  dow^n  from  the  time  of  Simeon  ben 
Jochai  and  the  Second  Temple.  There  are  portions  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  Zohar  which  bear  the  impress  of  Chaldee  thoupfht  and  civilization, 
to  which  tile  Jewish  race  had  been  exposed  in  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
Yet  on  the  othi'r  hand,  to  condemn  the  theory  that  it  is  ancient  in  its 
entirety,  it  is  noticed  that  the  Crusades  are  mentioned;  that  a  quotation 
is  made  from  a  hymn  by  Ibn  Gebirol.  a.d.  lO^O ;  that  the  asserted  author. 
Simeon  ben  Jochai  is  spoken  of  as  more  eminent  than  Moses;  that  it 
mentions  the  vowel-points,  which  did  not  come  into  use  until  Rabbi 
Mocha  (a.d.  570)  introduced  them  to  fix  the  pronunciation  of  words  as  a 
help  to  his  pupils,  and  lastly,  that  it  mentions  a  comet  which  can  be 
proved  by  the  evidence  of  the  context  to  have  appeared  in  12G4. 

There  is  no  Enfrlish  translation  of  the  Zohar  as  a  whole,  nor  even  a 
Latin  one.  Tiie  Hebrew  editions  obtainable  are  those  of  ^lantua,  1558; 
Cremona,  1560 ;  and  Lublin,  1623.  The  work  of  Knorr  von  Rosenroth 
called  Kahhala  Dcnudata  includes  several  of  the  treati.ses  of  the  Zohar, 
but  not  all  of  them,  both  in  Hebrew  and  Latin.  MacGregor  Mathers 
has  published  an  Engrlish  translation  of  three  of  these  treatises,  the  Book 
of  Concealed  Mysterii,  the  Greater  and  the  Lesser  Ilohj  Assemhli/,  and 
iiis  work  includes  an  oriprinal  introduction  to  the  subject. 

The  i)rincipal  tracts  included  in  the  Zohar  are: — "The  Hidden 
Midrasir',  "The  Mysteries  of  the  Pentateuch"".  "The  ^lansions  and 
Abodes  of  Paradise  and  Gaihinnom",  "The  Faithful  Shepherd",  "The 
Secret  of  Secrets",  "Discourse  of  the  Aged  in  Mi.shpatim"  (punishment 
of  .souls),  "The  Januka  or  Discourse  of  the  Young  Man",  and  "The 
To.sephta  and  ]\Iathanithan"",  which  are  additional  essays  on  Emanation 
and  the  Sephiroth,  in  addition  to  the  three  important  treati.ses  mentioned 
above.  In  this  .storehouse  may  be  found  the  origin  of  all  the  later 
developments  of  Kabbalistic  teaching,      [w.w.w.] 

Zoroaster.    Greek  form  of  Zarathustra  (q.v.). 

Zumyad  Yasht  (Zend).  Or  Zamyad  Yasht  as  some  spell  it.  One  of 
the  preserved  ^lazdean  fragments.  It  treats  of  metaphysical  questions 
and  beings,  especially  of  the  Anishaspe nds  or  the  Awesha  Spenta- — th-' 
I)h>ati  Cliohans  of  the  Avesta  books. 

Zuni.  The  name  of  a  certain  tribe  of  Western  American  Indians,  a 
verv  ancient  remnant  of  a  .still  more  ancient  race.  (Secret  Doctrine, 
II..' p.  628.) 


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